Ties with other emerging economies crucial

Photo © Ministério das Relações Exteriores Brasil/Roberto Stuckert Filho/PR

After five years of introspection and institution building, the sixth BRICS summit offers an opportunity for the group to focus on its relations with the rest of the world. Relations with the Group of 7 (G-7) are particularly contentious. Russia’s exclusion from the G-8 following the crisis in Crimea has moved the BRICS to the centre stage in Russian foreign policy thinking, and risks pulling the group onto an opposition footing with the West.

China and Mozambique: From Comrades to Capitalists

China’s rising position in African affairs, from that of quiescence to becoming a key economic actor on the continent, is now a well-recognized fact. A new book co-edited by SAIIA’s Chris Alden and the IESE’s Sérgio Chichava takes an in-depth look at China’s relationship with Mozambique.

‘Oil for Housing’: Chinese-built New Towns in Angola

China has gained a foothold in the African construction sector through the provision of ‘resources for infrastructure’ loans. The dominance of Chinese companies is particularly evident in mega projects such as railways, major transportation arteries, public buildings, etc.

The way forward for the BRICS New Development Bank

Photo © SAIIA composite

2013 was a difficult year for the five BRICS countries. China and Brazil faced slowing growth, South Africa and India were hit by currency instability, and concern over Russia’s governance deepened (before recent events in the Ukraine pitched them into all-out crisis).

China–South Sudan: Governance in Emerging Relations

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Away from news headlines about oil, conflict and political instability, China has been developing a more involved engagement with the government of South Sudan and its ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).