South Africa can benefit greatly from the BRICS bloc. It is critical for our government to cultivate relationships with the BRICS nations, particularly with the massive and rapidly growing markets of India and China, from which South African businesses can benefit greatly.
Our engagement with the BRICS, however, must not come at the expense of our relationships with the West. This should be obvious to everyone. While there is obvious potential in the East, our trading ties with the West are critical to our economic well-being. Unfortunately, it appears that those who represent us are unaware of this reality.
South Africa hosted the BRICS Youth Summit last week as a precursor to the main BRICS Summit, which is set to take place in Sandton later this month. Regrettably, we got off to a bad start.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the presidency’s minister for women, youth, and persons with disabilities, delivered an address that stunned me. Instead of emphasising the opportunities presented by South Africa’s relationship with BRICS, her speech centred on BRICS as a means to “accelerate the demise of an unjust imperialist world order.” The speech was heavy on rhetoric that portrayed BRICS as a rival to the West, rather than an alliance aimed at fostering development and cooperation among its members.
Ironically, in the same speech, Dlamini-Zuma bemoaned the world’s preference for raw materials over manufactured goods. However, she failed to recognise that our relationships with India and China are primarily based on the export of raw materials and the import of manufactured goods. The major importers of our manufactured goods, including vehicles and machinery produced within our borders – goods that drive industrial activity and add value to our economy – are Europe and the United States.
We should certainly aim to change this pattern of low-value-added exports to Asia over time, shifting the trading mix towards higher-value goods. However, alienating Western markets is not a viable option. Instead, we should use the manufacturing base bolstered by Western trade to increase our scale and competitiveness, allowing us to establish a presence in Asian markets for our manufactured goods.
Without competitive access to new trading markets, disrupting the trade relationships that currently sustain our industrial base would cause enormous harm to our economy. China, India, and Brazil have large populations that could represent a massive demand for goods that we could provide. However, we must be realistic in our approach to these opportunities, especially with China, which has a highly competitive manufacturing capability that South Africa will find difficult to match.
China’s interest is in maintaining access to our raw materials, but we should focus on creating opportunities for value-added goods and services exports.
Russia, on the other hand, poses unique risks as a result of its conflict with Ukraine, and we must be careful not to imply that our relationship with BRICS implies support for Russia. The fact that President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit in person is a positive development, as his presence could have overshadowed the agenda and limited the chances of positive outcomes.
As we approach the summit, I urge those who will represent our interests to do so strategically and with a clear vision of what will truly benefit us. It would be counterproductive to our relationships with the West to declare that BRICS exists to counter the West. Instead, we should strive to collaborate with BRICS members to improve relations and economic trade opportunities among our nations.
South Africa, in particular, should prioritise increased exports of manufactured goods to other BRICS countries. Presenting BRICS as an opportunity to drive economic development among its member countries would be welcomed by the West and all South African friends. BRICS should focus on creating opportunities for South Africa’s growth, not on the risks of impoverishment.
