South Africa joined the BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China, for the third BRIC summit meeting, which was held in China's resort city of Sanya, Hainan province. With emerging market economies growing all over Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, the newly enlarged BRICS is becoming more and more influential.

BRICS is a reflection of the changing times. Since the end of the Cold War, the rise of developing countries has resulted in a historic change in the global balance of power and it was natural for the five countries to come together in order to expand their international influence and share prosperity, as cooperation among the BRICS countries is an extension of the China-Russia-India trilateral cooperation and the India-Brazil-South Africa "quasi-alliance" mechanism.

The BRICS countries share many common characteristics and aspirations. They all adhere to an independent development model and are endeavoring to establish a more just and reasonable international economic and political order and a peaceful international environment.