Should BRICS Countries Partner with China for Semi-Digital Sovereignty? Absolutely!
July 21, 2025โข607 words
โThere is no technological sovereignty without collaboration. In a connected world, semi-sovereignty may be the most strategic form of independence.โ - Carlos Afonso
โThe shift toward a multipolar world will be determined not just by military or economic might, but by who writes the rules of the digital order.โ - Parag Khanna
โTechnology is not neutral. It reflects the values, interests, and power structures of those who create it.โ - Ruha Benjamin
โThe internet is becoming less of a global commons and more a battlefield of national sovereignty and strategic interest.โ - Fareed Zakaria
It makes perfect sense for the BRICS nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, to reconsider their reliance in the fragmented tech world of today, where global power struggles are being fought out in code, chips, and cloud infrastructure. One clever move? collaborating with China to create a flexible route toward greater control over their software and chipsets, a future without adopting an isolationist stance, or what we might refer to as semi-digital sovereignty.
The majority of BRICS countries have long expressed dissatisfaction with their dependency on American multinational technology companies. A large portion of their digital infrastructure, including cloud platforms and mobile operating systems, is powered by American firms like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. But China has already made a different decision. China has been forced to develop its own technological solutions due to years of trade restrictions and U.S. sanctions.
Examples include a powerful in-house China made computer operating system HarmonyOS and other opensource operating systems such as Linux AnduinOS, based on Ubuntu; Deepin, which is another Linux distribution that aims to provide an elegant, user-friendly, and dependable operating system; and openKylin, which is a Chinese Linux desktop distribution that runs the Kylin and UKUI desktop environments. China is also developing alternative payment methods and in-house chipsets. Its expertise puts it in a unique position to help other BRICS nations get past some of the most difficult challenges in their journey toward digital self-determination.
By working with China, the BRICS countries that don't want to start from scratch can modify these software and hardware resources to suit their own needs, including local languages, legal requirements, and economic environments. In terms of protecting their data, creating digital infrastructure according to their own countries terms, would be a major step in the right direction.
One more huge benefit? Time and money are saved. Complete digital sovereignty, in which a nation develops everything from scratch, is costly and time-consuming, and many developing economies can't realistically achieve it. However, a middle ground is provided by semi-digital sovereignty, which develops through local industry while utilizing open-source or Chinese technology as a foundation.
This is also a big-picture win. The world can move toward a multipolar digital order if the BRICS countries collaborate with China to develop cybersecurity regulations, app ecosystems, and hardware standards. It also means that more voices outside of Silicon Valley and Washington will be involved in determining the rules governing the world of the internet. Additionally, it increases these nations' bargaining power when negotiating international tech governance guidelines.
Naturally, there is no one-size-fits-all solution here. No one wants to just switch from one tech dependency to another because of the actual political tensions within BRICS, particularly between China and India. For this reason, a combination of approaches makes the most sense. When it makes sense, the BRICS nations can use Chinese tools; when it is not, they can continue to work with Western companies; and when it is feasible, they can develop their own domestic tech sectors. Flexibility is the key to success.
https://youtu.be/B7H0\_oh9Dyo?si=ALkflL-M8LDLSR2J
https://techhq.com/news/open-source-china-linux-kylin-kernel-desktop-de-microsoft/