A trade bonanza for all, 20 years in the making

Deeper trade and investment ties among BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as well as other member states — will help bolster economic resilience across the Global South and inject fresh momentum into an increasingly strained multilateral trading system, market watchers and business leaders said.

The group was established as BRIC in 2006, with South Africa joining five years later, and it has evolved into a major platform for Global South countries to deepen economic ties and advance collaboration in areas ranging from trade and investment to finance and agriculture.

As protectionism and geopolitical tensions add to uncertainty in the global economy, analysts said more BRICS collaboration could provide members with greater room to diversify markets and supply chains, as well as reduce their exposure to external shocks.

Wang Lei, director of the BRICS cooperation center at Beijing Normal University, said BRICS has gained greater economic significance as developing countries seek broader markets, more diversified sources of investment and deeper integration into regional and global supply chains.

There is ample room to deepen collaboration in production capacity, trade in goods and services and cross-border investment, Wang said.

Echoing that view, Cai Tongjuan, deputy dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, said the size and diversity of BRICS economies give members considerable scope to tap into each other's markets.

The potential for deeper economic collaboration is reflected in China's growing trade with several of its BRICS partners. Exchanges with Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa all recorded double-digit growth in the first seven months of this year.

The value of China's trade with Russia rose 21.5 percent to 1.1 trillion yuan ($163.7 billion) between January and July compared with the corresponding period in 2025, while the value of its trade with India rose 18.4 percent to 748.39 billion yuan, the General Administration of Customs said. The value of the country's trade with Brazil rose 21.4 percent to 881.53 billion yuan from January to July compared with the corresponding period last year, and the value of trade with South Africa rose 21.7 percent to 261.19 billion yuan.

Andre Thomashausen, professor emeritus of international law at the University of South Africa, said BRICS countries should deepen cooperation in digital technologies and smart manufacturing to accelerate the upgrading of traditional industries, while expanding trade and investment in renewable energy.

Deeper economic ties are also translating into business opportunities for Chinese manufacturers in fast-growing BRICS markets.

The value of exports of steam garment care products to India by Ningbo Kaibo Group Co Ltd, a home appliance manufacturer in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, rose 34.2 percent to 31.26 million yuan from January to July compared with the corresponding period last year, driven by rising demand in India's growing home appliance market.

Lu Dongfei, the company's foreign trade director, said faster urbanization, an expanding middle-income group and rising demand for higher-quality garment care are creating new opportunities in India, according to information released by Ningbo Customs.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn