Former chairman of Goldman Sachs’s Asset management department , Jim O’Neill coined the BRIC moniker to posit that Brazil , Russia , India and China were emerging and fast growing economies that held great promise for the future. He even believed that the BRICs could trigger a shift in global power. It is instructive that in devising his economic theory, he did not have South Africa (SA) in that group because its economy was way too small. To date SA is still the country with smallest economy in BRICS until perhaps other members join as agreed in 2024.
It was only at China’s behest that the Southern African nation became a member of the BRICS alliance. In China’s calculation, South Africa’s membership would serve its ongoing expansionist forays into Africa.
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