China supports Turkey and Azerbaijan's membership in BRICS - global dimension of the Belt and Road Initiative

At a briefing held on 3 September 2024, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning commented on media reports concerning Turkey's prospective accession to the BRICS grouping. Ning articulated China's support for the participation of additional partners with aligned interests in BRICS cooperation.

Mao Ning stated that China is willing, in collaboration with other BRICS member countries, to maintain the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation characteristic of BRICS, and to facilitate the participation of additional partners with similar objectives in BRICS cooperation.

It is anticipated that the forthcoming summit in Kazan will result in the expansion of BRICS, with the prospective inclusion of Turkey and Azerbaijan. China is particularly interested in strengthening BRICS cooperation with Turkey and Azerbaijan, given that Beijing has already been engaged in fruitful cooperation with Baku and Ankara in organising the Middle Corridor. Within the BRICS framework, China, Turkey and Azerbaijan, in collaboration with other members of the organisation, can facilitate the growth of transit of goods along the shortest and most efficient routes between East and West, as well as between North and South Eurasia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has made it clear that it supports not only Turkey's membership of BRICS, but also Azerbaijan's. This is because Azerbaijan has already applied to the BRICS organisation for full membership. Bloomberg has reported that Turkey has applied to join BRICS, but at the time of writing, there has been no official confirmation of this from Ankara.

Additionally, Mao Ning asserted that BRICS serves as a pivotal platform for collaboration between emerging markets and developing countries. This is also entirely consistent with the concept of the Chinese leadership's 'One Belt, One Road' initiative.

China is currently pursuing a policy of seeking access to the markets of as many Eurasian countries as possible. To achieve this goal, the country must establish reliable logistics routes. One such route is the Middle Corridor, which traverses Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Despite the assertion by former Turkish diplomat Sinan Ulgen, as reported in Newsweek magazine, that Turkey's aspiration to join BRICS was influenced by a sense of disillusionment with the West, it is evident that Ankara's intention in joining BRICS is not to adopt an adversarial stance towards the West, particularly the European Union. Conversely, Turkey's membership of BRICS will facilitate its involvement in East-West collaboration. Furthermore, the EU is also interested in the functionality of the Middle Corridor and the shortest overland logistical link between itself and China.

The place of the future BRICS summit - Kazan

It is anticipated that the subject of the prospective expansion of the BRICS association, which would include the accession of Turkey and Azerbaijan to the organisation, is likely to be addressed at the forthcoming BRICS summit, scheduled to take place in Kazan from 22-24 October 2024.

The choice of Kazan as the venue for the BRICS summit is particularly significant. This is particularly relevant in the context of China's leadership initiative, 'One Belt, One Road'. Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, is not only one of the largest and most modern centres and key cities of the Russian Federation; it is also historically related to the powerful Turkic states of the past, the Great Silk Road, and the historical corridor 'North-South'. It is therefore evident that Kazan represents a pivotal point in the historical network of trade and communication routes connecting the Baltic and White Seas with the Caspian Sea, Iran and India. Consequently, the Eurasian, Turkic, Islamic and Russian worlds were simultaneously intertwined in Kazan.

The city of Kazan is at the vanguard of municipal authorities that are implementing advanced solutions. It is not fortuitous that its Mayor, Ilsur Meshtin, is the head of the international organisation United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), which unites cities, local and regional governments and municipal associations around the globe. The organisation's activities include the promotion of advanced solutions for urban living and infrastructure development, the implementation of joint multilateral projects with international institutional partners, the organisation of exchanges of experience in local policy issues and the advocacy of local and regional governments at the United Nations.

The international status of Kazan was further enhanced following the gathering of over 200 mayors and representatives of municipal associations from China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Russia in the city in June 2024. This event led to the establishment of the BRICS+ Association of Cities. The newly established association unites cities and districts with a collective population of 2.6 billion.

Vladimer Tskhvediani
Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Strategic Partnership Information Support Centre

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