In a discussion with his Argentine counterpart Santiago Cafiero on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Bali, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi backed Argentina’s bid to join the BRICS grouping, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Cafiero lauded the move, saying that “the support and commitment to nominate our country to join are fundamental,” highlighting that “three of the four main commercial partners of our country are members of BRICS.”
In a similar vein, a statement by the Foreign Ministry opined that Argentina’s inclusion in the grouping shall “strengthen and broaden its voice in defence of the interests of the developing world.”
Cafiero noted that the New Development Bank (NDB), an initiative of the bloc, performs a “key role in international financial cooperation, as well as in the promotion of the agendas of the global South and the structural change they demand,” and emphasised on their common mission of “deepening multilateralism.”
#G20Indonesia | Argentina consiguió el apoyo chino para ingresar a los BRICS.
— Cancillería Argentina 🇦🇷 (@CancilleriaARG) July 7, 2022
El canciller Santiago Cafiero recibió formalmente el apoyo por parte del canciller de China 🇨🇳, en una reunión en la que también abordaron temas de la relación bilateral, comerciales y regionales. pic.twitter.com/j0dKtxL03S
The discussion between Cafiero and Wang comes shortly after Argentine President Alberto Fernández virtually attended the 14th BRICS Summit hosted by China on June 23, as well as Cafiero's participation in a meeting of the Foreign Ministers in May.
Following the summit, President Fernández indicated his country’s aspirations of becoming a “full member” of the grouping and hailed the NDB as “a useful instrument to strengthen national infrastructures.”
The procedure for expanding the grouping’s membership was a key point of discussion at the recent summit, wherein an application to join is decided upon based on consensus among all the member countries.
Argentina, along with Iran submitted their applications to join BRICS last week.
As #BRICS chair country, #China actively supports BRICS nations in launching an expansion process to include "BRICS Plus" cooperation. China will encourage all BRICS parties to formulate standards&procedures for membership expansion: Chinese FM. pic.twitter.com/EbrNAdMnZm
— Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) June 24, 2022
In this respect, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press conference that “as the BRICS chair for this year, China actively supports kickstarting the membership expansion process and expanding the ‘BRICS Plus’ cooperation,” adding that the countries have jointly agreed on strengthening “cooperation with other emerging markets and developing countries” and will “steadily advance the expansion process so that more partners will join the BRICS family.”
Likewise, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commended both Iran and Argentina as “worthy candidates,” adding that “the preparatory process” for their induction has been initiated.
This sentiment was echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova in a Telegram post last month, wherein she asserted, “While the White House was thinking about what else in the world would be turned off, banned, and spoiled, Argentina and Iran applied to join BRICS.”
The BRICS countries are viewed as emerging economies that pose a counter to Western hegemony. The five-nation bloc presently accounts for 40% of the world's population, approximately 26% of the global economy, and 18% of global trade.
Members of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa) are publicly supporting China's call to expand the economic bloc.
— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) May 22, 2022
Likely new members will be Argentina and Indonesia, and potentially Nigeria and Kazakhstan.
Another blow to US unipolar hegemony https://t.co/ahywXPpGEo
Efforts at broadening its influence were seen in the BRICS+ initiative of 2017 that brought together new emerging economies to jointly tackle the challenges to global sustainable development. In the same year Egypt, Mexico, the Republic of Guinea, Tajikistan, and Thailand were invited to attend the summit in Xiamen. The NDB also roped Bangladesh, the UAE, Uruguay, and Egypt into its fold last year.
Likewise, alongside Iran and Argentina, the leaders of Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Diji, Malaysia, and Thailand also took part in the June 23 summit hosted by China.
Argentina’s membership in the grouping could aid its economic recovery, given that it has been battling soaring inflation and a weakening currency that have shaken investor confidence and triggered massive social unrest.
It is also likely to bolster China’s growing ambitions in the region. In fact, Argentina's Ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja, told Chinese state-owned news site Global Times that the country’s inclusion in BRICS can promote a “more balanced global order” and also frame a “conducive” environment for “the further development of China-Latin America relations.”
Argentina can essentially prove to be an important link for China to the region, as Buenos Aires currently holds the pro tempore Presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).
The growing camaraderie between the two nations is evident with Beijing being Argentina’s second largest trading partner and a major importer of its agricultural and livestock products.
In fact, the two nations are celebrating their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year and have designated 2022 as the “Year of Friendship and Cooperation between Argentina and China.”
Fernández also visited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in February and reiterated his commitment to the Comprehensive Strategic Association, and pledged his country’s support to Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative. Xi also pledged to dispense two financing instruments amounting to almost $24 billion.
Fernández and Xi’s meeting this year followed their closer interaction through the pandemic. Argentina has benefited from COVID-19 vaccine deliveries and close to $20 billion in currency swaps from China. They also signed four railway infrastructure deals last year that amount to $4.7 billion. Meanwhile, China has vowed to support Argentina on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas dispute.