By Giullia Neagu
The power transition from the liberal Global North to the increasingly assertive Global South signals a shift from a unipolar to a multipolar international system, where emerging economies have the opportunity to contribute more significantly to shaping the global order. In this context, China plays a pivotal role. Being considered the architect of the BRICS group, Beijing successfully blends both far-left and far-right elements to design a hybrid ideological identity, aligned with its worldview.
Ever since China began to open up its economy under the helm of Chairman Deng Xiaoping in 1978, it has registered a remarkable level of economic growth. However, it was only after it acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2001 that Beijing began to exert its influence on a global scale, integrating into the worldwide economy. Progressively, China carved its way to becoming the second-largest economy in the world, transforming into a key international actor. President Xi Jinping’s political vision, supported by initiatives such as “Made in China 2025”, seeks to secure China’s seat at the table of global diplomacy while strengthening its technological sovereignty.
Hence, China’s active involvement in restructuring the international system, coupled with its unparalleled economic growth, underscores the fact that Beijing is a driving force within the BRICS coalition. The group, initially consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, was designed as an alternative to counterbalance the influence of the Western-dominated institutions. Nonetheless, it has evolved into a coalition that fosters the development of emerging powers, promoting the creation of a multipolar world.
Against this background, Beijing strategically blends both far-left and far-right political elements, creating a hybrid ideological identity that allows it to appeal to a broad palette of political regimes within BRICS.
Far-Left Elements Used by China Within BRICS
Within BRICS, Beijing strategically incorporates far-left elements, deeply rooted in Marxist-Leninist ideas. They aim to strengthen the cooperation among BRICS members, as well as to promote a better alternative to the liberal international order. These include: anti-Western narratives, a critical stance towards global capitalism, and a strong state dominance across multiple sectors of the economy.
The anti-Western discourse reinforced by Beijing aims to portray the Western powers as dominant powers that support inequality and use one-size-fits-all solutions. This narrative highlights the idea that Western-led institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, favor the economic and political interests of developed and wealthy nations.
During the 2023 BRICS forum, the Chinese head of state strengthened Beijing’s commitment to “deepen solidarity and cooperation with other emerging markets and developing countries to make the international order more just and equitable”, according to the official state news agency Xinhua. Thus, China provides an alternative to those institutions, encouraging state-led development and promoting financial cooperation.
The critical stance towards capitalism is another far-left element that characterizes Beijing’s engagement within BRICS. Western powers fostered the creation of a neoliberal economic model centered on privatization and minimal state intervention. Beijing, however, found a hybrid solution that intertwines state control with market mechanisms. As senior analyst Eva Seiwert underlines, it could be more accurate to observe BRICS not from the perspective of an “anti-Western” coalition, but rather a “non-Western” group. On this basis, Seiwert points out that, among the BRICS members, China could be the most ideologically driven one, in comparison with other countries such as India and Brazil, which adopt a more pragmatic attitude and do not see themselves as opposed to the Western powers. This perspective illustrates the idea that the group does not uniformly share the same perspective on global governance as Beijing does, accentuating China’s broader geopolitical ambitions and aspirations.
A third far-left element seen through China’s engagement within BRICS is the state-led development. President Xi’s efforts towards achieving national self-sufficiency underscore the instrumental role that the state plays in accomplishing long-term strategic goals, emphasizing China’s commitment to reducing its dependence on global market forces. As political scientist Aaron Friedberg wrote in his 2022 book Getting China Wrong, “Beijing seeks actively, and more or less explicitly, to reduce its dependence on the economies of the democracies, especially in high-tech sectors.”
Within BRICS, China seeks to encourage state intervention and autonomy, empowering the emerging economies to pursue autonomous development, free from the restrictions imposed by Western institutions.
Far-Right Elements Used by China Within BRICS
One of the most prominent far-right elements used by China within BRICS is Beijing’s preference for authoritarian models of governance. China is strategically aligned with Russia, another authoritarian power within BRICS, advocating for a type of international cooperation that finds its roots within sovereign state authority. According to author Carlos Piña, Moscow’s expansionist ambitions, coupled with Beijing’s astronomic economic growth, pave the way for the integration of new BRICS members that share the same values regarding authoritarian models of governance. Thus, BRICS members have welcomed semi-authoritarian or authoritarian member states as an attempt to highlight that these models of governance could be accepted and integrated within a multipolar world order.
The second far-right element that China uses as it engages with BRICS member states is nationalism. Beijing’s stance towards global governance reflects a sovereigntist worldview, according to which the national interests of a state are placed above international norms. Beijing’s strong nationalistic approach has been examined in depth by Dr. Kissinger in his book On China, where he explained that China’s ambitions are rooted in a sense of civilizational superiority and historical continuity. Thus, China’s nationalistic behavior within BRICS favors the creation of several key concepts that correspond to a broader far-right ideological posture. In this regard, Beijing encourages BRICS members to resist Western pressure on issues such as human rights or press freedoms, fostering the creation of a collective front that seeks to reject external Western pressures.
Additionally, China uses anti-liberalism as a far-right element within BRICS to challenge the credibility of the Western powers.
In this context, Beijing sees core liberal values, such as freedom of speech or human rights advocacy, as tools used by the West to undermine its national sovereignty.
Beijing encourages BRICS signatory states to resist external pressures that aim to impose a liberal approach towards governance, becoming increasingly attractive to other states that look forward to joining the coalition. This demonstrates that Beijing’s blend of both far-left and far-right elements within the group is effective and that the credibility and dominance of the Western powers are progressively decreasing.
Giullia Neagu is a PhD student in Political Science at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Romania. She researches the evolution of the Sino-American ties in the context of the global power, with a particular emphasis on Beijing’s rise in international affairs.
This article is published under the sole responsibility of the author, with editorial oversight. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial team or the CEU Democracy Institute.
