Time to translate economic weight into productive power

Twenty years after the BRIC foreign ministers first met in 2006, the shift in global economic power is undeniable. The enlarged BRICS now represents a significant share of the world's population, production, resources and economic growth. Meanwhile, international institutions created in the mid-20th century to uphold a particular distribution of economic power are increasingly confronted with demands they were not designed to accommodate.

The pressing question is how the Global South can leverage this shift. A wider choice of trading partners, financiers and technological partners means little if countries continue to export raw materials and import sophisticated technologies, remaining at the lower reaches of global value chains. Diversifying the destination of commodities won't alter the status of commodity-exporting countries in the international division of labor, because the problem is the structure of extraction, not its direction.

As BRICS enters its third decade, it must confront this developmental issue. Its growing economic weight has enhanced the agency of developing countries, but this must translate into productive power — the ability to transform resources, labor and knowledge into sophisticated production, technological capability and improvements in people's living standards.

BRICS should be seen as a building block of a pluriverse — an international order with multiple centers of economic dynamism and sources of finance, technology and knowledge that allows countries to pursue development strategies suited to their unique contexts.

The dispersal of global power is significant when it enlarges not only the choices available to developing countries but also their capabilities to act on them. A world with more widely distributed power but concentrated capabilities remains one of multiple poles, not genuine pluriversality.

BRICS has made strides in this direction. Its growth highlights a world where economic power extends beyond North Atlantic economies. The New Development Bank exemplifies how developing countries can establish their own multilateral institutions while engaging with existing ones.

This matters because the international economic system is a product of history, with institutions reflecting the power configurations of their time and reinforcing inequalities. BRICS has expanded the space for developing countries in this system, but its future success hinges on what these countries can build within that space.

BRICS members occupy diverse positions in the global economy. Some have formidable industrial and technological capabilities, while others remain dependent on commodity exports. Some run large trade surpluses while others are attempting to establish new industries. Some are major energy producers, while others are large importers. These asymmetries show that deeper trade among developing countries doesn't automatically lead to balanced development. Without focusing on productive capability, the dependence patterns in North-South economic relations can re-emerge in South-South relations.

One key achievement of BRICS is its ability to manage political and strategic contradictions. Despite differing political systems, rivalry in international markets, significant geopolitical disagreements and varied relationships with other major powers, the group has endured by focusing on common goals without demanding consensus on divisive issues.

The next challenge is extending that approach to the productive sphere. Cooperation must account for the differing interests among industrial powers, commodity exporters and countries developing new industries. Practical arrangements are needed to negotiate these differences and expand opportunities for investment, technological learning and productive activity across countries.

These efforts are already underway regionally. Organizations are leveraging critical mineral endowments for industrial development, recognizing the unique opportunity presented by the energy transition. The question for BRICS is whether its cooperation frameworks can reinforce rather than undermine these regional and national strategies.

China plays a vital role within BRICS, offering industrial cooperation initiatives, innovation platforms and support for special economic zones as mechanisms for developing practical relationships around production and technology. The country's transformation offers valuable insights, particularly on the interplay of infrastructure, human capital, industrial policy and technological learning. But countries must adapt these lessons to their own contexts because policies that worked under one political economy cannot simply be transplanted elsewhere and produce identical results.

China should be a mirror for reflection, not a template for replication. Countries must develop their own conceptual frameworks to interpret their challenges, ensuring that South-South cooperation enhances their ability to produce, learn, innovate and act independently.

Finance is another critical factor. While large infrastructure projects attract international capital, smaller manufacturers often struggle to secure the patient financing needed for expansion and for meeting technical standards to enter larger supply chains. The New Development Bank and other BRICS financing mechanisms can significantly contribute by supporting productive investment and strengthening domestic and regional supplier networks.

This is especially important as international economic relations fragment and geopolitical competition intensifies in trade, technology and finance. Resilience will not come from isolation, but from developing diverse productive, technological, financial and institutional capabilities to avoid debilitating external dependencies.

Pluriversality is a useful concept for understanding the evolving international order. A world with multiple geopolitical power centers doesn't guarantee greater control over developmental futures if capabilities remain highly concentrated. Pluriversality is meaningful when diverse societies possess the institutions, knowledge and capabilities required to exercise their developmental choices, with state capability as the foundation.

Ultimately, these efforts must improve people's material conditions. Development banks, special economic zones, technology partnerships, industrial corridors, and trade agreements should be judged by their impact on employment, enterprise viability, technological capability, infrastructure and human development.

The first 20 years of BRICS have shown that the Global South can gain greater collective weight and institutional presence in the international system. The next 20 years will test whether greater voice can translate into greater capability, wider choice into greater agency, alternative finance into productive assets, and whether technology partnerships can leave knowledge behind. BRICS has amassed global weight; its next challenge is to convert that weight into developmental power.

The author is the director of the Centre for Public Policy and African Studies at the Johannesburg Business School, University of Johannesburg.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.