Newsletters
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged BRICS nations to play a peacemaking role in the Middle East war as bloc leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, reached agreement on a joint declaration despite deep divisions over the 6-month-old conflict.
"The situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region continues to evolve; the war there has caused serious losses to people across the region and does not serve the common interests of the international community," Xi said at the BRICS Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Xi called on BRICS countries to "firmly stand on the right side of history," saying Beijing would work with other members to play their "due role in achieving peace and tranquility in the Middle East and Gulf region."
He also urged members to promote mutual learning among civilizations, improve global governance, and oppose "violations of other countries' sovereignty" and "interference in their internal affairs."
Xi rejected "all forms of protectionism," calling for support of the World Trade Organization-centered multilateral trading system, and urged BRICS to take a leading role in governing cyberspace, outer space and the deep sea while amplifying "the voice of the Global South."
He described BRICS as the "world's most influential platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries," and said China would assume the bloc's rotating presidency next year, hosting the 19th BRICS summit.
Opening the two-day summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said BRICS had "come of age" and it was time to translate the bloc's unity into concrete results.
"While strengthening BRICS, we must also determine the direction of global reform," Modi said.
"The Global South is today in the front row when it comes to global crises, but in the back row when it comes to decision-making. We have to transform this pyramid of privilege into a platform of partnership, where every country has a voice, every member has a stake," he added.
Modi reiterated India's longstanding push for UN Security Council reform, including a permanent seat for itself and other emerging powers, saying such reform "can no longer be delayed."
He said BRICS nations represent 50% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP and more than 25% of global trade.
Xi's trip is his first to India in seven years and comes as the two countries carefully rebuild ties damaged by a deadly 2020 military clash on their disputed Himalayan border, in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed.
Xi received a red-carpet welcome, including an honor guard and traditional dance performances, and was greeted by Modi at the summit venue.
The two leaders were scheduled to hold face-to-face talks Saturday evening, their third meeting in three years, with China's Foreign Ministry saying ahead of the visit that Beijing was "willing to work together with India" and "properly manage differences."
Pradeep Taneja, a China-India expert at the University of Melbourne, said both sides are seeking an "early and substantial harvest" on the unresolved border issue, even as both retain heavy military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometer high-altitude frontier.
Dozens of Tibetan exiles protested in New Delhi on Friday against Xi's visit.
BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE, was founded in 2009 to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies.
Its members together account for more than 40% of the world's population and nearly a quarter of the global economy.
The bloc's last summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2025. China will host the next one after assuming the rotating presidency from India.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
