5 March 2013

After having joined the club for 2012, South Africa is going to host the annual summit of heads of state of the BRICS in late March 2013. In the light of South Africa’s foreign policy – if not just for being the African BRICS member state – it is consequential to have chosen Africa’s development as the overarching topic for this summit. The Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University focusses particularly on China-Africa relations and explores China’s growing role in the world. Africa is no small feature in China’s foreign policy and its economic strategy. This special edition has the purpose to provide background on the various African agendas of the BRICS members in order to inform decision-makers and the broader public on the background of deliberations held in Durban. The discussion we want to provide input to with this publication clearly is not the somewhat futile debate about whether South Africa fits within the BRICS or not; it now is a member state and discussion should rather focus on what South Africa can achieve and which agenda it should promote. The question we asked our authors for this publication was how the other BRICS see the continent and how do their respective agendas fit with Chinese (and South African) foreign policy goals when it comes to Africa. Download Here