New research confirmed the extent of economic integration into the world economy by BRICS

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have become increasingly integrated into the global economy, which has fundamentally changed the pattern of international political and economic relations, according to new research.

BRICS are firmly entrenched in the economies of their regional neighbours, politically unstable states and with developed economies, confirmed a report from Maplecroft.

Of the developed economies, Australia is most highly integrated with the BRICS. It ranks 20th in terms of economic integration with China out of 185 countries.

Since 2008, China has overtaken the US to become Australia’s second most important trading partner behind Japan. The US is also rated as highly integrated with China, ranking 37.

Increasing economic integration among the emerging powers themselves was also a feature of the research. Integration between China and Brazil is developing with recent agreements between the two countries expected to further bolster integration, said the report.

“BRICS will be instrumental in pulling the world out of recession.

Jim O'Neill, Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs

The assessment is drawn from data on world trade, foreign direct investment, portfolio investment, and migration.

‘The evolving patterns of integration suggest that as the BRICS gain momentum in the global economy, Western business will benefit from seeking out opportunities for innovative collaboration,’ said Maplecroft.

Greater involvement of the BRICs in transnational institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, alongside their growing integration in the global economy, could change the nature of the international financial system, added the risk advisor.

Jim O’Neill, Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs, added: “The growth of the BRICs is fundamentally changing the patterns of economic and political international relations. This will become increasingly evident over the next few years, as the economies of the US and Europe struggle to recover, those of the BRICs will prove to be more robust, and will be instrumental in pulling the world out of recession.’