By Velina Tchakarova Much has been written and speculated over an emerging strategic alliance between Russia and China, which I gave the name ‘the Dragonbear’ in the geopolitics of the 21st century. Interpretations of the context of deepening bilateral relations range from very sceptic to very optimistic prognoses for the future. But what does the Dragonbear really aim to … Continue reading
By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya The Chinese are in the process of displacing the monopoly of the US dollar. They are dropping their US Treasury bonds, stockpiling gold reserves, and opening regional distribution banks for their own national currency. This will give them easier access to capital markets and insulate them from financial manipulation by Washington and … Continue reading
By Leslie Maasdorp Last month marked the official launch of the New Development Bank (NDB) in Shanghai. After the short-lived fanfare and excitement, the real work is now well under way to build, from humble beginnings, a new global development finance institution. The historical context that gave rise to the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and … Continue reading
Trade between BRICS countries has increased 70% over the past 6 year, according to South African President Jacob Zuma, RT reports. The economies of the five BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) account for almost 30% of global GDP. BRICS presents an aggregate GDP exceeding $32 trillion. This marks a 60% growth since … Continue reading
By Dragan Pavlićević As China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative gains momentum, most interpretations of Beijing’s initial OBOR-related activities have centered on the implications of OBOR for China and her immediate neighborhood. Europe, however, has a special place within the strategy. Europe features as the end point for both OBOR’s sea (Belt) and land (Road) … Continue reading
By Chas Freeman China’s “The Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” or officially called the “one belt, one road” project aims to bring into being a new economic order on the Eurasian landmass. Everything from the Atlantic to the Pacific is to be connected through hyper-efficient infrastructure and new institutional linkages. … Continue reading
“The agreement on the BRICS $100 billion currency reserve pool came into force Thursday. The fund was set up by the developing nations group to protect their national currencies from volatility in global markets,” RT reports. “The arrangement is important not only because it provides the possibility to quickly obtain additional liquidity, but its very … Continue reading
By Pepe Escobar, originally posted July 23, 2015 on TomDispatch Let’s start with the geopolitical Big Bang you know nothing about, the one that occurred just two weeks ago. Here are its results: from now on, any possible future attack on Iran threatened by the Pentagon (in conjunction with NATO) would essentially be an assault on the planning … Continue reading
By F. William Engdahl The dual summits that took place in Russia’s Ufa beginning 9 July were anything but routine. In fact it may be seen by future historians as a signal event that marked the definitive decline of the global hegemony of European civilization including North America. This is no small event in human history. … Continue reading
The BRICS grouping of emerging market nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — will start to open local offices of the New Development Bank (NDB), also known as the BRICS bank, in 2016, Russia’s TASS news agency reports, citing Andrey Bokarev, a department head at the Russian Finance Ministry. The first office in South Africa … Continue reading