Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi: two men aged 70 and 72 belong to the same generation. They have the same longevity in power – the former took over China in 2013, the latter India in 2014. More importantly, they share the same dream: to make their country the first superpower of the 21st century. This is where their insurmountable differences begin. Competitive geo-economic-political strategies develop from them, which find a new illustration at the fifteenth BRICS summit. This brings together in Johannesburg five member countries (four founders in 2009: Brazil, China, India, Russia, joined in 2010 by South Africa), as well as about fifty countries, of which more than 20 are candidates for membership.

China’s Xi Jinping, who was re-elected to a third and final five-year term last March, is pushing for rapid membership expansion. “We should allow more countries to join the BRICS family and pool their wisdom to make global governance fairer and more reasonable,” he said on Wednesday. India, through the voice of its Prime Minister Modi, has spoken in favor of a “consensus” of members before any redistricting, an elegant way of delaying the process.