BRICS summit gives boost to Global South

The BRICS summit in New Delhi strengthened common ground among major Global South countries on development, cooperation, multilateralism and global governance reform amid global volatility and recurring regional conflicts, officials and analysts said as President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day visit to India on Sunday.

The summit, which brought Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi together for their third consecutive year of bilateral talks, also gave fresh impetus to improving relations between the two neighbors, with broader implications for regional stability and Global South cooperation, they said.

Speaking to reporters upon the conclusion of Xi's visit, Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the trip as a major diplomatic engagement with Global South countries in the opening year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period.

Coming after Xi's visits to Central Asia and the Middle East earlier this month, the trip was strategically significant for advancing high-quality cooperation within the expanded BRICS grouping and strengthening Global South solidarity, Wang said.

In less than 24 hours in the Indian capital, Xi attended nearly 10 events, discussed development and cooperation with BRICS leaders, and held in-depth talks with Modi to chart the course of bilateral relations, Wang said.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of BRICS cooperation.

At the summit, Xi said solidarity and cooperation had always been the source of the grouping's strength.

He called on BRICS countries to take a leading role in innovation-driven development, safeguarding peace and stability, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and reforming and improving global governance.

At a new historical juncture, Xi had responded to the high expectations of Global South countries by reaffirming the historic mission of BRICS cooperation and charting its future course, Wang said, noting that Xi's urging elevated the strategic importance of BRICS cooperation and bolstered members' resolve and confidence to seek strength through solidarity.

Speaking at a media briefing on Saturday, Sudhakar Dalela, secretary for economic relations at India's Ministry of External Affairs, said that there was a broad convergence among BRICS leaders on the need to strengthen multilateralism and to make global governance institutions more representative, inclusive, effective and responsive to today's realities.

To bolster the strength of the Global South, Xi said during the summit that Global South countries should jointly defend the rule of law in international affairs, hold high the banner of multilateralism, remain committed to a people-centered development philosophy and jointly advance security governance.

He proposed five initiatives for "greater BRICS" cooperation in artificial intelligence, trade and investment facilitation, digital industry, intelligent manufacturing and talent development.

Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at National University of Singapore's Business School, said "greater BRICS" distinguished itself through concrete plans to benefit people in countries beyond its membership.

"The BRICS summit has a broader implied message for the international community — global development cannot be based on a zero-sum game mentality where development is pursued at the expense of others," he said.

Swaran Singh, a former professor of international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India, said that Xi had presented "greater BRICS" as a platform for a more multipolar, rules-based order, with a strong emphasis on practical cooperation.

He said Xi's proposals overlapped significantly with India's own emphasis on technology, resilient supply chains and a stronger role for the Global South in shaping international affairs.

With China set to assume BRICS' rotating presidency for the fourth time next year, Wang said the country would remain committed to, rooted in and supportive of the Global South, sharing opportunities and pursuing common development on the path toward modernization.

The bilateral meeting between Xi and Modi, following their talks in the Russian city of Kazan in 2024 and Tianjin in northern China in 2025, also brought the direction of China-India relations into focus.

Wang said the two leaders held candid, in-depth exchanges on strategic and long-term issues shaping bilateral relations, with their most important consensus being that China and India should be partners.

Under the leaders' strategic guidance, ties have gradually emerged from a low point, with an expanding range of cooperation, record bilateral trade and more active people-to-people exchanges, Wang said.

Improved relations serve the interests of the two countries' more than 2.8 billion people and are also important for strengthening Global South cooperation, he added.

India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that the leaders welcomed the steady progress in relations since their Tianjin meeting and reaffirmed the need to take a strategic and long-term perspective on the bilateral ties.

"Differences should not become disputes," the statement said.

Wang said that each country's development offers opportunities for the other, and that China-India cooperation has significance far beyond bilateral ties, with implications for the Global South and the world as a whole.

He urged both sides to build on the hard-won improvement and implement the leaders' consensus to contribute to regional and global peace and prosperity.