BRICS Led by China and Russia Confronts US: "Building Stronger Multilateralism"

Discussion on De-dollarization Expected
at July BRICS Summit, Says AFP

The BRICS, an alliance of emerging economies led by China and Russia, reaffirmed their determination to establish a united front against the tariff policies of the Donald Trump administration in the United States.

According to AFP on April 28 (local time), the 11 BRICS member countries announced this position during a meeting of foreign ministers held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mauro Vieira, Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs (left), and Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Photo by AP Yonhap News

This two-day meeting, which runs until April 29, was organized with the goal of reviewing pre-coordinated agendas and exchanging views among member states ahead of the BRICS summit scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro in July.

Foreign ministers or delegations from all 11 member countries?Brazil, China, Russia, India, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Indonesia?attended the meeting.

Mauro Vieira, Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated, "In this time of humanitarian crises, armed conflicts, political instability, and the weakening of multilateralism, dialogue is more important than ever." He added, "As multilateralism is under attack from all sides, BRICS must step forward for stronger multilateralism." He also criticized Israel for blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip for more than 50 days, and emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine.

AFP noted that at the BRICS summit in July, member states are expected to make "challenging the dollar's hegemony" one of the main topics of discussion. As China and Russia expand the use of their own currencies for settlements, BRICS member countries have already moved to accelerate de-dollarization discussions at last year's summit. In response, President Trump warned, "If these openly hostile countries do not abandon their attempts to replace the dollar with a new currency or an existing one, they will face a 100% tariff."

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with the Brazilian media outlet O Globo that the BRICS countries plan to increase the share of their own currencies in transactions among member states. However, he also mentioned that discussions about transitioning to a single BRICS currency are "premature."