a group of seven of the world's advanced economies

including the US, UK, and Japan.

And here's what some call the alternative

from the developing world, the BRICS,

formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

The BRICS is trying to position itself as the voice

for emerging economies and challenge western dominance

of global affairs.

Its leaders are holding a summit in Johannesburg

to discuss an historic expansion.

More than 40 countries

including Saudi Arabia and Iran want to join.

- The expansion of BRICS

could definitely boost the group's global influence.

- [Narrator] Let's look

at what a potential enlargement means for the alliance

and its ambitions to shake up the global political

and economic order.

- The original term BRIC was actually coined

by a Goldman Sachs banker,

grouping these really different countries together

because they were so fast-growing.

- [Narrator] The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India,

and China formalized their relationship in 2009,

and invited South Africa to join the alliance a year later.

- They decided to take that idea in an effort

to create a bit of a political and economic counterpoint

to what's perceived as the western hegemony

of the global political and economic spheres.

- [Narrator] The BRICS countries together

make up more more than 40% of the world's population

and almost 1/3 of the world's GDP.

According to data from the International Monetary Fund,

the bloc has already overtaken the G7 nations' share

of the global economy

on the basis of purchasing power parity.

That's where the purchasing power

of different currencies is equalized.

Projections by Goldman Sachs

show the world's economic balance shifting

towards the BRICS and emerging economies.

China is expected to overtake the US

as the world's largest economy by 2050,

with India climbing to number three.

- China and India have experienced massive growth

since the BRICS were founded in 2009,

and certainly have helped them swell in importance

and remain relevant on the global stage.

- [Narrator] China and Russia are pushing to enlarged BRICS.

Experts say Beijing is keen

to create an alternative grouping to counter the US

and the west on the world stage.

- China has been bullish on expanding BRICS for some time,

and they're particularly keen at the moment

because of the trade tensions with the US, the US looking

to diversify its supply chains away from China.

- [Narrator] Russia sees an expansion

as a way to gain more international allies

following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

(footsteps pattering)

South Africa publicly supports the expansion,

as does Brazil, but experts say behind the scenes,

Brazil and India want a more measured approach.

- It seems that they are concerned

about the group leaning too autocratic,

so they want to have very specific requirements

for admission to make sure that there's a balance

amongst the members,

and that it doesn't become sort of the autocratic G7.

- [Narrator] More than 20 countries have formally applied

to become part of BRICS, ranging from Saudi Arabia

to Ethiopia, Argentina, and Indonesia.

Experts say Saudi Arabia is a strong candidate

as a major economic and energy power in the Middle East

with a growing role in regional diplomacy.

Indonesia with the world's fourth largest population

is another strong contender.

- Indonesia being such a large economy

and important in the electrification, clean energy tech,

electric vehicles, might be a logical choice.

- [Narrator] One reason for joining the BRICS

is gaining access to the bloc's New Development Bank.

Since its founding in 2014,

the bank has approved more than $30 billion in loans

for development and infrastructure projects.

- Access to funding from this bank

which seemed to be having more favorable terms

than a traditional development bank like the World Bank

or the IMF is definitely something that's attractive

to a lot of countries.

- [Narrator] The New Development Bank also wants

to deepen the use of local currencies

instead of the US dollar for trade and financing

between the BRICS nations.

Ultimately, experts say one of the biggest challenges

for the BRICS to counter the west is to form a united voice

on major global issues.

- Generally, the countries have pretty diverse

and diverging interests in politics, on security issues,

and even relations with the US.

I think the group would like to be seen

as an alternative political forum

to the G7 group of developed nations.

Whether or not it is able to achieve that,

I think will largely depend on what countries it admits.

(bright music)