BRICs indispensable at world policymaking forums
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With their fast-growing economic clouts, Brazil, Russia, India and China, collectively known as BRIC countries, are indispensable at world policymaking forums including the G7, said Jim O'Neil, the creator of the acronym BRIC.
"Without having the four BRIC countries involved, three of which are generating most of the world's growth, what purpose can the G7 serve?" said O'Neil, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, told Xinhua in a recent interview by e-mail ahead of the second BRIC summit, to be held in Brasilia on Thursday and Friday.
The G7 groups the world's leading industrialized countries -- the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and Canada.
In fact, when O'Neil first coined the term "BRIC" in 2001, the British-born economist and his colleagues at Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs had accurately predicted that the weight of the BRICs, especially China, in world GDP will grow over the next decade.
Therefore, they said in a report at the time: "World policymaking forums should be re-organized" to absorb BRIC countries.
In a report released in December, O'Neil and his colleagues said over the 2003-2008 period, the average growth in all four BRIC countries were better than expected.
Although Russia's growth is slightly weaker, China, Brazil and India have done very well in terms of growth, they said.
O'Neil noted the BRIC countries are increasingly aware of the environmental aspect of their economic growth, which makes his projections for these countries' growth more easily.
"Among the most recent interesting developments is that China has 'discovered' energy efficiency and alternative energies. India, in its recent budget, is also showing the first signs... boosting energy efficiency (in BRIC countries) makes our 2020 projections more likely rather than less," he said.
Speaking of the upcoming April 15-16 BRIC summit, O'Neil said it will be the beginning of discussions that will last some time.
Issues to be addressed at the summit will range from the representation of the BRIC countries in the G20, their role in the International Monetary Fund and their share, to their view about the future of the international monetary system, according to O'Neil, who attended a preparatory meeting for the summit in February.
Looking into the next decade, the economist said a big story will be rapidly rising trade between Asia and the rest of the world.
For example, he said: "The very latest German trade data show that exports to China and India are rising dramatically. Quite remarkably, on the current rate, this time in 2011, German trade with China could be bigger than German trade with France."
