China’s strategic moves within BRICS+ and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have taken their present-day form through a long process that shaped by the changes in the balance of power in the post-Cold War period. Since the 1990s, China has begun to seek alternative paths to the international order led by the West and has taken steps towards its economic and political independence.
China made a critical move in achieving both its security and development goals in the Eurasian region with the establishment of the SCO in 2001. The establishment of BRICS in 2006 provided China with a wider maneuvering area in the global economic balance of power. During this process, China focused on developing in-depth cooperation with developing countries by moving beyond the Western-centered order. Since the Xiamen Summit in 2017, China implemented the “BRICS+” strategy and has taken significant steps towards building an alternative economic and political order at the regional and global level.
China’s strategic moves have revealed its goal of establishing a multipolar world order in both economic and security areas through BRICS+ and the SCO. These strategic efforts, which strengthen China’s claim to global leadership, have intensified with economic and political cooperation.
BRICS focuses on to create an alternative platform in the global financial system for developing economies and has gained more importance, specifically with the goal gaining economic independence against the Western-centered dollar hegemony after the 2008 global financial crisis. Some of the greatest achievements of BRICS are the establishment of financial instruments such as the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). Thanks to these instruments, BRICS countries and other developing countries have found financing for their infrastructure projects that demonstrated the alternatives have been developed to Western-centered institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.
The deep economic and political differences between BRICS countries have made cooperation difficult at sometimes. The political view on issues such as border disputes between India and China and the reform of the UN Security Council show that BRICS has not achieved complete as a union.
It has been seen that the expansion of BRICS into BRICS+ and the evolution of the Shanghai Five into the SCO are a crucial part of China’s strategies to balance against the West through global multilateral cooperation. While BRICS initially focused on the economic and political cooperation of the five countries, it evolved into a broader structure with the BRICS+ strategy in 2017 and began to include developing countries. Likewise, The Shanghai Five was established in 1996 for border security and counter-terrorism purposes, and became the SCO in 2001, becoming a broader security and economic cooperation platform. The expansionist process of both organizations has been the fundamental building blocks of China’s efforts to establish a multipolar world order.
BRICS+ has also played a critical role in China’s global financial cooperation strategies. China has provided alternative financial support to the IMF and the World Bank to developing countries through the New Development Bank (NDB). The NDB’s financial mechanism aims to reduce the financial dependence of developing countries on the West and increase China’s influence in the global economy. The economic cooperation between the BRICS+ countries and China also serves as a protection mechanism against sanctions imposed by the West.
BRICS has faced difficulties in creating alternative payment systems against dollar hegemony. For instance, the BRICS Pay system proposed in 2018 but it has not yet been effectively implemented, and a clear roadmap has not been created on how to fully implement it. For this reason, BRICS’ efforts to break the dominance of the dollar in the global financial system have been limited and have not met the expected success.
In the second half of 2024, China’s strategic moves in the context of BRICS+ have been at the center of its efforts to challenge the West’s global dominance and build a multipolar world order. BRICS+ expansion has constituted one of the milestones of a multidimensional strategy that contains the control of global energy resources, financial independence, and security cooperation. During this expansion process, China has strengthened its interests by using balance of power policies offered by realism, and liberal cooperation mechanisms. This expansion has been an important part of China’s goal of consolidating its global power and creating a new balance against Western pressures. In particular, the accession of Iran and Saudi Arabia to BRICS+ has increased China’s geopolitical influence in the Middle East and limited the West’s influence in the region. At the same time, China has continued to use the BRICS+ platform to balance India’s relations with the West. Although India has attempted to pursue an independent foreign policy, China’s economic and geopolitical dominance has continued to determine the power dynamics within BRICS+.
Not only the economic dimensions of China’s BRICS+ strategy, but also security cooperation has played an important role in its strategic plans. Within the framework of the SCO, China and Russia have sought to strengthen their own security structures against NATO’s security threats. China has expanded this cooperation by supplying military equipment to Russia, and the SCO has aimed to become a platform that allows China to increase its leadership in Asia. However, the SCO has been questioned from time to time. Because the membership of countries such as India and Pakistan have increased political and military conflicts within the organization, which has weakened security cooperation.
China’s strategic moves within BRICS+ and the SCO reflect a complex and multi-layered structure. China simultaneously pursues multi-dimensional strategies that complement each other in the economic, political, and military fields. By means of BRICS+, China challenges the financial and economic hegemony of the West, while trying to gain economic independence using local currencies and commercial cooperation. At the same time, it has been achieving its goals of maintaining stability in Central Asia and fighting against terrorism by deepening regional security cooperation in the SCO, the steps taken by China in these two organizations demonstrate its efforts to project a balanced power towards its global leadership goals.
China’s strategies in the context of BRICS+ and SCO are based on efforts to distance the global balance of power from the influence of the West and establish a multipolar world order. During this process, China has tried to strengthen its global leadership position by using both realistic power projection and liberal cooperation mechanisms. However, internal tensions within BRICS+ and SCO and sanctions imposed by the West have been among the critical factors affecting the success of these strategies.
China’s strategy in the context of BRICS+ and SCO presents significant advantages in its quest to establish a multipolar world order. China has deepened its economic cooperation with developing countries and aimed to take important steps, especially in terms of energy security, with the expansion of BRICS+. The participation of countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran in BRICS+ has been grown China’s influence in global energy markets and strengthened its efforts to reduce dependence on the dollar.
There are also many critical challenges to this strategy of China. Differences of interest among the member countries of BRICS+ and SCO may weaken cooperation. The border problems, especially between India and China, make strategic harmony within BRICS+ difficult and limit cooperation. At the same time, the sanctions imposed by the US and the West aim to weaken China’s global economic influence, and this situation may put pressure on the cooperation that China has developed through BRICS+ and SCO. In addition, the conflicts of interest between the members of BRICS+ and SCO and the West’s ability to maintain its influence on the global financial system are among the factors that may prevent China’s multipolar world order strategy from succeeding.
[1] Asma Khan, “Eastward Bound – The SCO’s Strategic Surge”, Modern Diplomacy, https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2024/07/08/eastward-bound-the-scos-strategic-surge/, (Date of Accession: 08.09.2024).
[2] “BRICS: Achievements, Failures and Future – an Analysis”, IASScore, https://iasscore.in/current-affairs/mains/brics-achievements-failures-and-future-an-analysis, (Date of Accession: 08.09.2024).
[3] “BRICS Expansion Explained: New Members, New Challenges”, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, https://globalaffairs.org/commentary-and-analysis/podcasts/brics-expansion-explained-new-members-new-challenges, (Date of Accession: 08.09.2024).
[4] “On 1 January 2024, the World’s Centre of Gravity Will Shift: The Thirty-Fifth Newsletter (2023)”, Tricontinental, https://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/brics-expansion/, (Date of Accession: 08.09.2024).
[5] “Russia to Host BRICS Summit 2024 Amid Heightened Geopolitical Conflict”, Advisor Analyst, https://advisoranalyst.com/2024/09/04/russia-to-host-brics-summit-2024-amid-heightened-geopolitical-conflict.html/, (Date of Accession: 08.09.2024). [1] “SCO and BRICS+: Pathways to Multipolarity”, Hammer, https://hammermagz.com/sco-and-brics-pathways-to-multipolarity/, (Date of Accession: 08.09.2024).
