BRICS and Mortar

Sectors where competition is most evident are construction, mining, engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and IT, he says.

"This is especially the case with China and India. The management of South African commercial relations with both powers will be a delicate balancing act in the coming years."

Once the dynamics of politics are added to that balancing act, the precariousness of it all becomes all the clearer.

Zhang says the political concerns of the five countries will, to a large extent, dictate how the BRICS countries work with one another.

"China and India have territorial issues, while Brazil, located close to the US, has to be very careful with every decision it makes. As for South Africa, it has to grapple with the question of whether it really qualifies for membership."

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How the member countries can balance their ambitions within the political structure at the same time as accommodating ideological differences and setting development goals are questions that the five member countries' leaders will eventually need to sort out, Lu says.

Stevens says any failure to establish a more binding institutional apparatus to govern the BRICS grouping would damage it. "A sober appreciation of this potential challenge should thus frame deliberations."

Just as bricks are of limited use without mortar, there is increasing awareness that if BRICS is to live up to its name its members have to do a lot more to make it function as a cohesive and effective economic unit.

"In many ways, the BRICS act more as competitors than collaborators," Stevens says. "Despite the grouping's best intentions it has yet to carve out a clear and collaborative agenda. The convergence between the BRICS superficially highlights areas of collaboration, which counteracts the assertion that the BRICS is a relatively rudderless group."

As world growth chugs slowly along, held back by weak demand in advanced economies, the pressure is on the BRICS to pitch in and add fuel to the engine.

Trade and investment, financial services and resources are seen as three key areas for collaboration.

Last year the Development Bank of Brazil, the State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs of Russia, Exim Bank of India, China Development Bank Corp and the Development Bank of Southern Africa signed a "master agreement in extending credit" in local currencies to reduce the demand for fully convertible currencies for transactions among BRICS members, and thereby help reduce the transaction costs of intra-BRICS trade.

China and Brazil then signed currency swap deals, considered the first step toward a broader agreement, with Russia, India and South Africa to allow BRICS members to pool resources as a bulwark against financial crises outside their borders.

Zhang of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, says the BRICS countries should speed up signing currency swap deals.

"The currency swap deals are aimed at narrowing the influence of US-dollar domination in the world financial system," he says. "The financial crisis has proved that the domination of the US dollar in the global financial system is the root of the crisis. A more dynamic financial structure should be built as soon as possible."

Nikita Maslennikov, an expert with the Institute of Contemporary Development in Russia, says there is great scope for the five countries to work together in the resources area.

"That can be split into two categories: Russia, Brazil and South Africa belong to the resource-reliant economy category, while China and India are in the resources demand group," Maslennikov says. "Mutual projects based on the exploration of resources and the value-added manufacturing chain are foreseeable. Each country can find their position in the projects."

In all joint projects, planned or expected, experts believe that China is an essential ingredient in the mortar of intra-BRICS cooperation.

"Inside the BRICS, China's influence is more pronounced than even these macroeconomic metrics would suggest," Stevens says.

Standard Bank says China accounts for 67 percent of BRICS trade with the world, and China is a party in 85 percent of intra-BRICS trade.

"It is not surprising because China's economy accounts for around 55 percent of total BRICS GDP, and China is the world's largest trader," Stevens says.

China is Russia's, Brazil's and South Africa's largest trading partner and India's second largest. Last year China accounted for 20 percent of Brazil's exports, 10 percent of India's and Russia's and for more than 30 percent of South Africa's.

Davies of Frontier Advisory foresees challenges for BRICS but seems to be relatively optimistic about its future.

"BRICS indicates future consumer demand. Future growth of consumer demand comes from emerging economies. With further and more profound collaboration, the future is still bright."