Chinese president calls for closer economic ties among members and partners of expanded bloc as Beijing seeks to stabilise its own strained relationship with Delhi
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President Xi Jinping has unveiled a series of initiatives on AI and trade and investment aimed at deepening cooperation within Brics as China has sought to turn the expanding bloc into a more influential player in global affairs.
Speaking at the Brics summit in Delhi on Sunday, Mr Xi said the success of what he called the “Greater Brics Initiative” would depend on establishing a solid foundation for practical cooperation.
He called on its members and partner countries to strengthen cooperation, keep industrial and supply chains stable, and develop a more integrated market, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
China would take the lead in establishing a Brics AI Open Source Zone to promote cooperation on large language models, training and an open AI ecosystem, Mr Xi said. He also proposed a Brics Special Economic Zone partnership, and said China would host a Brics Service Trade Forum next year to strengthen trade and investment ties.
This comes as the grouping seeks to expand cooperation in politics and security as well as economics and finance. India holds the Brics chair this year and China is due to take over in 2027.
Brics was formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The block now comprises 10 full members – the original core plus Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE – and 10 partners in Cuba, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Its expansion in recent years gives the bloc greater reach across the Global South, even though the interests of its members vary widely.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said earlier at the summit that solutions developed within Brics shouldn’t remain confined to its members but be accessible to developing countries more broadly.
Russian president Vladimir Putin described Brics as a powerful force for creating a “fairer” world order, urging members to find ways to combine the competitive strengths of their economies.
Moscow, meanwhile, said on Sunday the leaders of China and India had offered to help facilitate peace talks over Ukraine, an offer welcomed by Mr Putin, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
On the first day of the summit, Brics, in a diplomatic breakthrough, issued a joint declaration on the conflict in the Middle East, with Iran and the UAE both backing language urging maximum restraint.
It expressed concern over escalating violence and called for dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation.
The two countries are on the opposite sides of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The agreement was reached despite the increasingly difficult regional environment. Iran and the US have renewed attacks on each other, while Houthi forces in Yemen have threatened shipping routes and Saudi Arabian infrastructure.
On the sidelines of the summit, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian met Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, for the highest-level meeting between Iranian and Emirati officials since the war in the Middle East began. They discussed de-escalation, regional stability, and efforts to advance peace and development.
The summit also provided an opportunity for Mr Xi and Mr Modi to pursue a cautious rapprochement between India and China. The two leaders met on Saturday, with Mr Xi saying China viewed relations with India from a “strategic and long-term perspective”.
He called on the two sides to draw on each other's strengths, support one another and pursue common development.
Mr Xi also called for “high-quality cooperation”, saying India and China, as major members of the Global South, should promote a multipolar world and contribute to global peace and stability.
According to Xinhua, the president said China and India were “partners, not rivals” and that each nation represented an opportunity for the other's development rather than a threat.
Mr Modi said peace and tranquillity along the disputed border were essential for the development of bilateral ties. The two nations reaffirmed their commitment to finding a fair and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary dispute, according to India's foreign ministry.
“Differences should not become disputes,” Mr Modi said. “Both sides must be guided by three mutuals: mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.”
The leaders also discussed expanding business and people-to-people links, as well as trade imbalances, supply-chain issues and market access.
Bilateral trade reached a record $155.6bn in 2025, though India continued to run a substantial deficit, according to Reuters.
Mr Xi's visit for the summit was his first to India since 2019 and followed years of tension after a deadly military clash along the disputed Himalayan frontier in 2020.
At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in the confrontation in Ladakh.
Although military tensions have since eased and the two countries have taken steps towards restoring relations, substantial distrust remains. The two nuclear-armed neighbours continue to dispute parts of their border, while trade barriers, restrictions on Chinese investment and technology in India, and their competing strategic interests in Asia remain sources of friction.
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