In an article posted on InfoBRICS, the Goldman Sachs banker who coined the acronym BRIC, Jim O’Neill, groused sarcastically over the way Trump’s actions are only further strengthening the very BRICS he says he wants to destroy.
“Judging by his words, Trump seems to want to stop the bloc of major emerging economies from challenging the U.S.-led global-governance system. But judging by his actions, one could be forgiven for thinking that he wants to help it pursue its global ambitions.”
He continued: “Alienating the world’s most populous country [India] is risky, though. If the U.S. is hoping to contain China, it would help to maintain a close partnership with India. Following Trump’s friendly visit with a top Pakistani military official, India may now be more tempted to respond positively to Chinese overtures. This month, Modi is paying his first visit to China in seven years.
“As I have argued before, if only China and India could find a way to look past their differences and develop stronger ties, that would be a game-changer for the BRICS+, not to mention for Asian and even global trade. America’s relevance would wane, and more countries would grow dependent on Asia’s two giants.”
O’Neill claimed that Trump is “going easy on China and Russia while he pushes away Brazil, India, South Africa, and America’s fellow G7 members. In doing so, he is giving the BRICS+ and others an even stronger reason to develop alternatives to the Western-led international order.”
