Backgrounder: BRIC quartet of emerging powers

BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The second summit of the BRIC nations will be held on Thursday and Friday in Brasilia, Brazil.

BRIC is the acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China, the four major emerging market economies.

Jim O'Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs, first brought about the concept of BRIC in 2001. In a 2003 report, O'Neill predicted that the world's economic powers would have been reshuffled by 2050, and the BRIC nations would surpass most Western developed nations such as Britain, France, Italy and Germany, and stand with the United States and Japan as the world's most powerful economies.

Along with the report's release was the world's keen attention to the BRIC nations, which were regarded as leaders of the emerging market. The concept of BRIC was thus accepted worldwide.

Territories of the BRIC nations account for 26 percent of the land on earth, and their population account for 42 percent of the world's total. The four nations produce 14.6 percent of the world's gross domestic product, and take up 12.8 percent of the global trade volume. Their contribution to the world's economic growth amounts to 50 percent in terms of purchasing power parity.

The BRIC nations have opened up more opportunities for dialogue and cooperation. Particularly, since the onset of the global financial crisis, the four nations have strengthened coordinated efforts in addressing the economic slowdown.

At the first BRIC summit in Russia in June 2009, the leaders of the BRIC nations discussed issues ranging from reform of international financial institutions, food safety, energy security, climate change to development aide.