JOHANNESBURG, South Africa \u2013 To celebrate its role as host of an exclusive geopolitical club, the seaside city of Durban is having a beach party.<\/p>\n
There will be Chinese and Russian DJs, beach volleyball, a sand-sculpting contest and even a performance by legendary jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela \u2014 an odd way to boost support for an annual summit where currency swaps and a new development bank will top the agenda.<\/p>\n
South Africa, the newest entrant to the BRICS group of emerging economies \u2014 joining Brazil, Russia, India and China \u2014 is \u201cthe most enthusiastic member\u201d of an increasingly important club, said Martyn Davies, CEO of Frontier Advisory, a Johannesburg-based consultancy.<\/p>\n
While BRICS started as an economic bloc with China at the helm, it has been transformed into a geopolitical institution representing the developing world, as well as a growing political force.<\/p>\n
The leaders\u2019 summit in Durban next week will be attended by the new Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on his first overseas tour since taking over leadership of the country. Joining him will be Brazil\u2019s President Dilma Rousseff, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.<\/p>\n
The acronymic grouping has changed dramatically since \u201cBRIC\u201d was first coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O\u2019Neill in 2001, as a catchy way to describe emerging markets.<\/p>\n