BRICS member India has no plans to end its reliance on dollar
India appears to be staying neutral, resisting the push to turn BRICS into an anti-American club. According to Bloomberg, Indian officials are far from enthusiastic about a project in which Russia and China take the leading roles. India has its own perspective on this geopolitical drama and clearly does not want to be cast as just a minor player in a campaign against the US dollar.
India is not alone in its reluctance. Brazil and South Africa are also not eager to turn BRICS into an anti-dollar coalition. The UAE, a recent addition to the group, is also exercising caution. With strong ties to the West and a thriving relationship, the UAE sees no reason to upset a winning strategy.
Just before the BRICS summit in Kazan, a meeting of finance ministers in Moscow was conspicuous by the absence of officials from China, India, and South Africa. Even China, which usually supports ambitious steps in such matters, seems hesitant. According to Wang Yiwei, director of the Center for European Studies at Renmin University, China sees the idea of bypassing the dollar as exaggerated. After all, most BRICS countries are not under Western sanctions, so their motivation for upending the global financial order is not exactly front and center.
Meanwhile, The Economist reports that Vladimir Putin aims to challenge the supremacy of the US dollar, proposing a new global financial and payment system that could strengthen the group's influence and curb US dominance. However, enthusiasm for this vision seems tepid, particularly from India, which remains intent on charting its own independent course.
It appears the battle against the US dollar is on pause, at least for now.