CHINA and BRICS Slams US to Submission Point | US Dependency Yoke Broken
By LINE FLUX
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed the idea of ‘Brics Plus’ to promote peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom among other developing countries during geopolitical uncertainty. China has supported nations like Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nigeria, Senegal, and Thailand to join the group. However, the Brics group faces challenges in resolving disagreements between China and India and accepting new members with different worldviews.
The US sanctions against Russia have led some countries to rely more on their national currencies in foreign trade. There is increased talk of efforts to integrate payment systems and create an alternative to the SWIFT payment messaging platform. Central banks of the Brics countries have agreed to conduct the fifth test of a banking mechanism that could allow for jointly pooled “alternative currency” reserves to shield their economies from external shocks.
The United States has been heavily dependent on the Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – for several years now. Despite President Biden’s efforts to contain China and bring production home, this dependence shows no signs of easing. In 2022, US imports of products from China totaled $536.8 billion, a 6.3 percent increase from 2021, while exports to China only grew by 1.6 percent to $153.8 billion. This essay will examine why the US will remain dependent on the Brics countries and why this is a cause for concern.
One of the reasons the US is dependent on China is that American producers that rely on Chinese production for inputs are insufficiently committed to diversifying sources of supply. For instance, Apple has claimed that it’s difficult to relocate production, and that’s why its main assembly plant in Zhengzhou makes up about three-quarters of the world’s iPhones. However, this argument has been debunked by Samsung, which once relied on China-based production but has now successfully diversified. According to the Financial Times, Samsung closed its Chinese plants in 2019 and now builds more than three-quarters of its cell phones in six countries, from Argentina to Vietnam.
Another area of concern is the pharmaceutical industry, where the US heavily relies on China for the ingredients that go into drugs. American pharmaceutical giants dominate drug production, but at least half of all the chemical ingredients for these drugs, known as APIs (for “active pharmaceutical ingredients”), come from China. This dependence has not diminished since the pandemic began, and no reliable statistics exist. APIs that appear to originate elsewhere may originate in China.
This dependence could potentially cause a supply chain catastrophe if China were to withhold exports of APIs in an escalated crisis or another COVID shutdown. According to Barry Lynn, author of the prophetic book End of the Line, the US would run out of vital prescription drugs in about a week if China withheld exports of APIs.
Once, US companies made nearly all of the APIs that went into domestically produced drugs. Still, most of this production shut down as Big Pharma found it cheaper and more profitable to outsource to China. Despite the risks, there is little industry interest in bringing this production home. Unlike semiconductors, the manufacture of APIs is pretty much basic chemistry. There are remnants of API production in some regional clusters around Richmond, Atlanta, and northern New Jersey, and some state-level efforts to increase production as economic development, but nothing remotely adequate to the need if the goal is to secure national supply.
A related problem is the lack of reliable data on supply chains. The government doesn’t collect it, and industry treats sources of supply as trade secrets, as do the suppliers. Compounding the dearth of transparency, there are often several tiers of suppliers. The supplier in tier two may not, and often don’t, know where her vendor in tier three sources his supplies. It may look as if there is plenty of diverse sourcing, but all roads may lead to tier four – in China.
Here’s what others had to say:
OLIVER MONEY LAUNDERING
An old Chinese saying, “If you cannot win alone, join the group.” Friendship is power.
arthur
Making money is an action. Keeping money is behavior. Growing money is knowledge.
Justinekipchirchir Kibor
It’s time for the world to ditch dollar fake currency.
Gina Mitembe
Highly appreciated for bringing us facts(hope it’s not fake) 😅 so much is happening that affects all our lives!! Thank you
Sham Balkaran
The world needs cooperation not domination.
Yue Yue
In brics, china (business and technology), Russia(military and nature resources), south Africa (supplies/nature resources and foods), Brazil (nature resources/ supplies and foods) and India(population)
jason powell
Great work BRICS nations. It good to see team work against America. I’d invest in BRICS.
Jojo Jojo
Amazing things have started to happen the multi pola world rapidly growing. The empire is collapsing. Which is a good thing for all of the people of planet earth.
Jojo Jojo
Brics mission is to invite all people of good will to join and get a better understanding of what we were created for we intend to proceed from new world to one world order.
you get a spear
A brave new world is needed….a new global socio-economic order that’s rooted in truth, justice and righteousness as a matter of urgency, the world is a mess as is with no saviour on sight.
Setumo Mahakoe
Now, each country will be able to address its own backyard economy accordingly. RSA will breath a relieve sight.
Tan Colvis
BRICS countries can parked a certain % of funds as a reserve currency to shield from currency movement and speculator and also can uses it power to hv lower cost of raw materials go development.
Sarah Khan
BRICS will bring prosperity friendship peace cooperation development to the world. Well done China and BRICS
Jimmy Lee
The world is changing fast & becoming multipolar. BRICS, BRI & the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will bring world peace & prosperity. Membership of BRICS will grow. They help each other develop & promote peace & understanding amongst themselves. This is good for the world.
Hopefully the warmonger (US) will not create wars to destroy the good work done by BRICS & SCO.
Bobby Beeman
The US tried a One World Order. The US as the self appointed policeman. I as an American am glad that the pride of this nation is being broken once again. Perhaps this time humility will reign and we will regain our prosperity before starvation hits in strong.
Poverty is already gaining on the bulk of the nation but the wealth of the ones who have it are still holding us up. Good luck world hope the new life on earth treats all well.
Setumo Mahakoe
The Brics must and will run the world economy by its own terms .Everybody will have to abide by all terms set equally for all.
