From BRICS to BRICS+: The positions of Brazil and China and their consequences for bilateral relations.

This article analyzes the positions of Brazil and China after the 2024 BRICS enlargement, examining the key consequences of the inclusion of the five new members (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia) for Brazil-China relations, revealing a paradoxical combination of new opportunities and growing challenges in the bilateral partnership. The increase in the number of members of the group represents a significant change in the global landscape, characterized by greater multipolarity, strengthening it economically and politically, creating greater representation and diversity within the BRICS+ framework. The enlargement has created complex dynamics in Brazil-China relations, bringing both new opportunities and additional challenges. On the one hand, the inclusion of oil-producing countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE) has strengthened the energy and financial component of the group, opening up new markets for Brazil in agricultural products through Chinese trading platforms. China, in turn, has received additional channels for promoting the yuan in payments for Brazilian goods, and has also expanded the opportunities to promote the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. On the other hand, the expansion has exacerbated existing problems. Brazil is forced to compete for attention and investment with new participants, the structural imbalance in trade has increased - Chinese exports of industrial goods to Brazil are growing faster than Brazilian supplies of raw materials. In addition, the emergence of new players has weakened the cohesion of the original "core" of BRICS, where Brazil and China had closer mechanisms of interaction.