Published : 13 Sep 2026, 10:47 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
Chinese President Xi Jinping calls on BRICS nations and the wider Global South to jointly defend international law and resist what he termed the logic of "might makes right," as the bloc's 18th summit gets under way in New Delhi.
Speaking at the second session on Saturday, Xi said developing nations must serve as a stabilising force in global affairs and urged member states to uphold the UN's authority, push for equal-treatment reforms at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and overhaul the international financial architecture to give developing countries greater representation, states The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
He said China had delivered over 2,000 projects and trained more than 200,000 professionals across 120 countries since launching the Global Development Initiative five years ago, and had extended zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African nations with diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Xi then put forward five initiatives for deeper BRICS cooperation.
He proposed an open-source AI community for the bloc to jointly develop large language models, and a special economic zone partnership to boost trade and investment, with a Forum on Trade in Services planned for next year.
He also called for a shared BRICS digital cloud platform, assistance for member states in building smart factories and aligning manufacturing standards, and a BRICS engineer alliance paired with a youth innovation exchange programme, according to The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
Xi framed the proposals within China's upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, calling it "a cooperation list for the rest of the world."
India is hosting the summit this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the session.
