~*~Mining and Metals Du Jour~*~

[srm4u]

November 2021 will mark the 20th anniversary of the BRIC acronym that I coined to capture the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Many commentators will be revisiting the concept and assessing each country’s performance since 2001, so here are my own thoughts on the matter.
13 January 2021

Despite a disappointing decade for Brazil and Russia, it is still possible that the BRIC grouping could become as large as the G7 within the next generation. If international trade, investment and financial flows between the BRIC countries and the rest of the world continue, this level of growth would be good for everyone.

But that is a big if. Much will depend on whether we can muster the political leadership to strengthen international governance and the openness to which Western democracies have long aspired. In terms of these political questions, the BRICs’ second decade has been tough. Relations between the West (the US and Europe) and China and Russia are as fraught as they have been in decades, though the recent conclusion of an EU-China investment agreement offers some good news.

One hopes that the arrival of US President-elect Joe Biden’s administration and Britain’s chairing of the G7 will make up for lost time. There appears to be some momentum behind the idea of creating a larger Democratic Ten (D10) alliance comprising the G7 members and Australia, India and South Korea. From a Western perspective, this grouping would have obvious geopolitical and diplomatic advantages, and might help with the governance of cyberspace and technology; but it is unclear what purpose it would serve for the wider world.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-01-13-the-bric-at-20-an-assessment-of-the-economic-groupings-two-decades-of-existence/