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Brics members agreed in New Delhi on Saturday to continue the push to expand trade and payments in local currencies to counter US pressure.
The member nations also found enough common ground to overcome some of their biggest diplomatic splits.
In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping used his address at the Brics summit to deliver a thinly veiled critique of US policies, calling on members to deepen cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence.
Xi proposed an initiative on “AI-empowered new industrialisation” designed to deepen collaboration on industry and supply chains, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The call came as the bloc was celebrating its 20th anniversary, having grown from a small economic framework into what Xi calls “the most influential cooperation platform for emerging markets and developing countries in today’s world”.
At the same time, the gathering is being held against a backdrop of regional and global turmoil, from the war in Ukraine and the Middle East conflict to protectionism and tariff tensions. And its unity is being tested by divisions such as Iran’s repeated attacks on fellow members, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Xi’s attendance at the summit is the latest in a flurry of diplomatic activities preceding his trip to the United States, efforts that are expected to give him the upper hand in his meeting with his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
Brics, a bloc of developing nations, has increasingly been viewed as a counterweight to Western-led institutions and a platform for building an alternative international order.
Part of that push includes cross-border payments. The group’s Payment Task Force had studied “cross-border interoperability of payment and messaging channels” and would keep working on payments that were “fast, low cost, more accessible, efficient, transparent and safe”.
But the leaders were also clear about just how far they were prepared to go as the declaration said there was “no one-size-fits-all approach” and that national priorities must be respected.
As well as the host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other high-profile attendees include Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.
For China, Brics is also seen as a platform to advance Beijing’s vision of a multipolar world and cement its standing as a leader of the Global South.
In that vein, Xi said Beijing was willing to work with Brics countries to play a “due role” in bringing peace to the Middle East, calling on the group of emerging economies to oppose bloc confrontation and the “infringement upon the sovereignty of other countries and interference in their affairs”.

His call for AI cooperation also highlights Beijing’s efforts to advance its own framework, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico), widely seen as its answer to Washington’s Pax Silica Initiative.
The two countries are vying for AI dominance and Pax Silica is Washington’s approach to secure AI and semiconductor supply chains among allied nations.
Xi invited all Brics countries to join Waico to shape global AI governance and development.
“China stands ready to work with all parties to jointly produce more research and development and application outcomes, and to deepen cooperation across industrial and supply chains,” he said.
“Facts will prove that ‘decoupling and severing supply chains’ cannot hinder our development process, and ‘small yards with high fences’ will only confine oneself and fragment the world,” Xi said, in a veiled swipe at the US.
“We must firmly … strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, encourage open source and collaborative sharing and push practical cooperation to new heights.”
Xi said the Global South was growing stronger and urged Brics countries to “firmly stand on the right side of history” and lead the international order towards a more just and equitable direction, away from unilateralism and power politics.
Member nations unanimously adopted the 45-page “New Delhi Declaration 2026” on the opening day of the summit, with Modi saying that no member had objected to the text.
In a thinly veiled challenge to Washington’s stance, Xi urged the Brics members to criticise protectionism and unilateralism, calling on emerging economies to defend international institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization against tariff threats, treaty withdrawals, and efforts to carve out exclusive global trade alliances.
“We must oppose withdrawing from organisations, breaking treaties, and starting anew by setting up separate mechanisms,” Xi said.




Liu Zongyi, a senior fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said Xi’s call for Brics to become “a vanguard for peace and stability” was especially relevant, given India’s efforts, as the group’s chair, to avoid being drawn into geopolitical conflicts.
Xi urged Brics countries to pursue “common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security”, reject cold war thinking and bloc confrontation, and oppose violations of sovereignty and interference in internal affairs.
He also called for constructive efforts to resolve regional hotspots, saying China was ready to work with Brics partners to “contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East and Gulf region”.
Liu said the political and security dimension, part of the three pillars of Brics cooperation, had become increasingly important as global tensions intensified.
“In today’s turbulent global environment, the political and security pillar is especially critical. As Xi emphasised, Brics should play a constructive role in mediating and easing regional tensions to advance global and regional peace.”
Modi, who chaired the opening session, said the voice of developing economies could not remain “a courtesy” and that emerging countries had to write the rules of global governance.
Brics, he said, was “not against anyone” but instead was for everyone.
“The current structure of global governance resembles a pyramid,” he added.
“Power and decision-making sit at the top. Those who live with the consequences sit at the bottom, they are affected by every decision, excluded from every one of them.”
China will assume the organisation’s rotating chair next year.
In a sit-down after the summit, Xi told Modi that China and India, as the world’s most populous nations and key members of the Global South, bore “significant responsibilities” in an international landscape “fraught with turbulence and change”.
The grouping first took shape in 2006 when Brazil, Russia, India and China began informal talks before it was officially established in 2009. South Africa joined in 2010, turning the bloc from Bric to Brics.
The grouping has undergone two expansions since, adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2024 and Indonesia in 2025. Brics now covers nearly half the global population and about a third of the world’s GDP.
Over the years, the bloc has evolved into a political platform for intergovernmental cooperation in areas ranging from finance and trade to culture and justice.
It has also become increasingly vocal about overhauling global systems, including proposing alternatives to US dollar-based payment systems, a suggestion that prompted warnings from Trump.
But its expansion has also brought fresh challenges to the bloc, with analysts suggesting that there are now more competing voices which have slowed its progress and made it harder to reach a consensus on issues.
Additional reporting by Orange Wang, Nayan Seth, Alyssa Chen, Shi Jiangtao and Victoria Bela


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Brics members find common ground on AI, trade and alternative payment expansion

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping share a moment at Bharat Mandapam during the Brics summit in New Delhi, India, on Saturday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Brics, a bloc of developing nations, has increasingly been viewed as a counterweight to Western-led institutions. Photo: Pool via Reuters

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This year’s Brics summit is being hosted by India, one of the founder members. Photo: AFP

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Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to New Delhi for this weekend’s Brics summit. Photo: AP

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping last met in person in Beijing in May. Photo: AP

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng meet in Seoul, South Korea, on May 13. The two are leading bilateral trade talks. Photo: Xinhua

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (right) with Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the Brics summit in New Delhi. Photo: X/Iran_in_India

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Leaders of Brics member states pose for a photo in New Delhi on Saturday. From left to right: Brazil Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, United Arab Emirates’ Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. Photo: Indian Foreign Ministry via AP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Brics summit that the bloc was “not against anyone”. Photo: Handout

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Diplomacy

Xi Jinping also tells the event in New Delhi that the bloc should play a ‘due role’ in bringing peace to the Middle East


Xi Jinping also tells the event in New Delhi that the bloc should play a ‘due role’ in bringing peace to the Middle East.


India

Middle East

Xi Jinping

Brics

Brics members find common ground on AI, trade and alternative payment expansion

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Xi Jinping also tells the event in New Delhi that the bloc should play a ‘due role’ in bringing peace to the Middle East

Xi Jinping also tells the event in New Delhi that the bloc should play a ‘due role’ in bringing peace to the Middle East