The proposed enlargement of BRICS (BRICS Plus) with the inclusion of powerful emerging economies would help fill the void created by US trade protectionism, international analyst Adrian Zelaia told Sputnik.

Having analyzed Beijing’s idea to bring Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam into the BRICS group, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Zelaia, the president of Ekai Center consulting company, concluded that this could come as a response to Washington’s decision to pull out from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.