The R and S in BRICS
Andrey Yakovlev, Director of the HSE Institute for Industrial and Market Studies, comments on the state of Russian economy in his interview to China Radio International.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis that started in 2007, high hopes had been placed on the BRICS, an acronym for the world's leading emerging economies, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It was thought that, with their robust growth, these countries could lead the flagging global economy out of the woods. And they did, up until recently, when the magic power of their stimulus measures designed to counter the crisis began to lose its luster. All the BRICS members have begun to display varying degrees of economic contraction. In this edition of the program, we will examine the health of the South African and Russian economies.
So, can South Africa continue to play the role of the gateway to the African continent? And how can a petro-rich Russia diversify its economic mix and fend off the volatility of the global energy market?
Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, bringing you insights into the headline news in China and around the world, I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.
We talk to Mr. Goolam Ballim, Group Chief Economist of Standard Bank of South Africa and Professor Andrei Yakovlev, from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.
Listen to the broadcast on the China Radio International website.