the Brics are a strong force that will rival the u.s and it's allies
I like to think of BRICS the way I think of Bitcoin. Just as Bitcoin is not "rival" of anything and is just an alternative to existing payment systems
, trying to offer system that doesn't have the same flaws; BRICS is also not exactly a rival
to anything. It is an alternative alliance of countries to solve various problems including economical because the existing system (eg. UN, IMF, etc.) wasn't working as it should have been working.