Two decades after its inception, BRICS has expanded its economic and political ambitions, positioning itself as a formidable platform for the Global South amid a fragile international order.
BRICS is entering a new phase of its development, with Chinese state news agency Xinhua arguing that the bloc has moved well beyond its original role as a forum for major emerging economies. Two decades after its launch, the grouping has expanded in size and ambition, and now presents itself as a platform that gives the Global South greater influence in a world marked by protectionism and fragmentation.
The bloc’s economic reach helps explain that appeal. The International Monetary Fund says BRICS countries together account for about 40% of global gross domestic product at purchasing power parity and almost half of the world’s population. UN Trade and Development data published in March show that trade between BRICS members has grown more than 13-fold since 2003, reaching $1.17 trillion in 2024.
Finance remains one of the clearest areas of practical cooperation. The New Development Bank, based in Shanghai, has become a key vehicle for funding infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member states and beyond. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the bank said it had approved $42.9 billion in financing for 140 projects, with work spanning transport, clean energy and digital transformation.
Supporters of BRICS argue that this is what makes the grouping distinctive: not just its scale, but its emphasis on shared development tools, from industrial innovation to technology transfer. The Council on Foreign Relations has described the bloc as both a diplomatic coalition and a financial one, while other analyses note its steady enlargement and growing political weight. Critics in the West often portray BRICS as an attempt to build a rival order, but Xinhua cast the group as a more open and inclusive arrangement aimed at widening participation rather than closing it off.
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