Russia and Brazil producers want the opposite

It imagined the meeting as a Versailles, a Yalta, the great dividing the world, or as Roosevelt and Ibn Saud sealing oil agreement on the "quincy" Cruiser in 1945. And no, nothing, a summit without result to be especially pointed out the differences. The story was not the appointment.

Tuesday, June 16, for the first time, Lula da Silva, Dimitri Medvedev, Manmohan Singh and Hu Jintao found themselves, in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals. Brazil, Russia, India, China, first Summit of the BRICS: 22 of global GDP, 40 of its population. The acronym BRIC was invented by Jim O'Neill, Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs, in 2003, after having calculated that together these four "emerging" economies should match in 2040 from the old powers of the G6: US, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy.

The Russians, always modest, had qualified advance Yekaterinburg to new "epicentre of the world". Should be present at the beginning of the great geopolitical toggle of the 21st century. Calculations of GDP are not wrong to announce the new world which emerges, with the weakening of the supremacy of American, European clearing and the connecting of the Japan Asia, Chinese new region of power under domination. Each of the BRICs is wanting to say its word on the new world order, on the crisis on trade, the environment, food security. If the four United way said, their voice would be to America and its European ally. The members of the BRICs are in agreement: the United States must no longer dominate the world as before, starting with their financial system, which went bankrupt. "What unites us, summed up the Brazilian negotiator, is our common will to change of global governance."

A central theme was the order of the day: the dollar, both tool and symbol of the American hyperpower. Croissants US deficits threaten reserves in these countries, for the most part denominated in Greenbacks. Chinese, Russian and Brazilian authorities have said in recent months to want to move away from the dollar and begin to use their own currencies in bilateral trade. Beijing has talked of the SDR (special drawing rights) of the IMF. Moscow has proposed that each of the four buys bonds of State of the other three.

Financial markets heightened the Summit with great interest. But the dollar is not matter in the final release. The clumsiness of the Russians, too quick, and the premature nature of the proposals (none of the currencies of these four is convertible!) have traced economic and strategic background differences. The four formed a "junk", as noted just Andrew Weiss on the site of Foreign Policy. China and India, demographic powers, want raw materials prices as low as possible. Russia and Brazil, producers, want the opposite. The eve of the Summit, Beijing announced again lend $ 10 billion to the countries of the former Soviet Union in Central Asia to secure its purchases of oil and gas without passing through Moscow.

Mr Singh and Lula have priority is to preserve their economy, to attract investors and technologies, and not to engage in some crusades against Washington. The India was also need for the United States to Pakistan. The Chinese also want to focus on their bilateral relationship with the Obama administration, they are more attached to the G2 to the BRIC. Only Russians reason in Imperial terms and take the acrimonious remarks, but in truth, this old country, where life expectancy is collapsing and where the economy is not diversified has no place next to other.

Do not draw conclusion that Europe can sleep and America to reassure, its dollar promised a bright future. The United States will continue to be dominant for a long time, but with concern currency weakness, the dollar will be increasingly challenged. The failure of the meeting of Yekaterinburg show that the new world will not be the substitution of supremacy by another, the powers will be shared, nested in a manner more complex, more moving. In currencies, better is probably do to the idea of a true disorder, unpredictable and sustainable.