The Welcomed Rise of China: An overview of Beijing’s relations with Brazil and other BRICS countries

Abstract

Cooperation between China and Brazil based on similar principles of international affairs evolved not only in their long-lasting bilateral relations but also through their contacts with other members of the BRICS, a group of countries formed in 2009 whose tenets include the defense of a multipolar and more just world order. The former American National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski had foreseen the dangers for the US global hegemony that could arise from the coalition of dissatisfied powers; today it has become clear that China’s relations with Brazil and within BRICS play an essential role in the configuration of a Non-Western international system. The purpose of this article is to explore China’s political and economic rise based on its relations with Brazil and other BRICS countries, which have effectively formed an ‘anti-hegemonic association’ and a platform most suitable for democratization of international affairs. The results of our research demonstrate that the rise of China has been beneficial for both Brazil and other BRICS over many years due to China’s contribution to a new global configuration of power. The paper uses analytical and qualitative approaches to both economic data and political discourse related to China’s interactions with Brazil and inside BRICS.