BEIJING, April 10. /TASS/. The creation of a common BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South African Republic) currency is becoming increasingly important due to the US dollar’s increasingly negative impact on international markets, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Business Administration Central China Pedagogical University (Wuhan) Zhou Weidi told TASS on Monday.
"After World War II the US, using its economic power, created the dollar-based system, which spurred the growth of the global economy; this cannot be denied," he stressed. "However, later, as the world developed, including the continuous development of BRICS countries, the benefit [of using the dollar in international settlements] started to diminish," the expert added.
Employing unilateral sanctions and putting pressure on other nations, including its own allies, Washington has sparked increasing concern and mistrust, including in the American currency system, he noted. "This does not mean that the dollar will suddenly collapse, but we need to address the issue of de-dollarization," Zhou Weidi stressed.
That said, the economist admitted that it would be challenging to create a single BRICS currency in the short-term, noting that it took the European Union several decades to create the euro.
"Meanwhile, the BRICS nations have some basis [for the creation of a single currency] <…> if, for example, such a regional currency appears by the middle of this century, I think it will stimulate the development of both those countries [members of the integration] and the whole world," he pointed out. "Hopefully, member states of the organization will be able to discuss issues related to the creation of a common regional currency and ensure its permanent integration into the BRICS space," the expert concluded.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that the issue of creating a common BRICS currency would be discussed at the organization’s summit set for the end of August.