De-dollarization of BRICS: The fight against the US dollar enters the next round

Source: Berliner Zeitung | Original Published At: 2026-09-09 09:11:44 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS leaders meeting in New Delhi are expected to focus on expanding trade in national currencies, alternative payment systems, and financial infrastructure rather than creating a common BRICS currency.
• The New Development Bank, founded in 2015 and led by Dilma Rousseff, is intended to finance infrastructure and development projects increasingly in local currencies.
• China's CIPS and Russia's SPFS have emerged as alternatives to Western payment infrastructure, although they remain much smaller than SWIFT.
• About 99% of China-Russia trade and about 96% of Russia-India trade were reported to be settled in local currencies, according to cited analyses and bank data.
• China is pursuing renminbi internationalization and cross-border digital currency initiatives such as mBridge, while India emphasizes strategic autonomy, UPI internationalization, and possible CBDC links.
• Russia's main motivation is sanction resilience and financial sovereignty, although the Kremlin said Russia does not seek de-dollarization as a political goal.
• The article says a common BRICS currency remains unlikely due to economic and political differences, while the US dollar still accounts for about 57% of global foreign exchange reserves.