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Brics

Brics
Brics (an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) refers to an association of 10 leading emerging markets. The other member states are Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Bharat Mandapam, venue for the 18th Brics summit hosted by India last weekend, bedecked with banners for the event. Photo: Reuters
Pakistan

Opinion | Reporter’s note: two Delhis, one weekend – when the world came to dinner

The Indian capital was prepared for the 18th Brics summit like a house before company, if at times the cost of its finery fell unevenly.

Malaysia

Anwar was on song in India. Will Malaysia reap the rewards?

Diplomacy

Opinion | What China really means when it says it’s being ‘strategic’

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

Trump signs bill targeting China’s Russia energy imports days before Xi’s US visit

US president gives backing to ‘Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’ before next week’s Xi-Trump summit in Washington.

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US President Donald Trump displays signed orders during a dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Friday. Photo: AP
Diplomacy

Letters | What Brics wants: a non-Western, not an anti-Western, world

Readers discuss the recent Brics summit, and former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa’s time in office.

US-China relations

China pushes back against US sanctions bill targeting Russia’s top energy buyers

Beijing braces as US House clears ‘Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’ before next week’s Xi-Trump summit in Washington.

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China-India relations

Will ‘transactional’ America assist India in a future border crisis with China?

India’s relations with US have frayed over trade and tariffs recently, but strong defence ties still remain between the two countries.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Brics summit venue in New Delhi on September 12. Photo: via Reuters
India

India scores Brics win with joint declaration despite divides

New Delhi ‘papered over’ differences to keep the bloc focused on trade and tech priorities, analysts say.

United States

Brics leaders act to hedge – not revolt – against US dollar dominance

As New Delhi summit closes, the bloc pushes for a louder voice within global institutions while building parallel machinery, analysts say.

Currencies

Brics pivots to pragmatic de-dollarisation via payment links: analysts

Analysts say lack of movement towards a common currency reflects a more pragmatic approach to reducing reliance on US dollar.

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The venue for the Brics summit in New Delhi. Photo: AP
Artificial intelligence

Xi touts Brics cooperation on AI as US titans flag tech risks

China’s President Xi Jinping promoted an AI ‘community’ at a Brics summit, while US industry leaders backed the idea of slowing the technology’s development.

Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Middle East diplomacy stalls as war spreads, Hormuz talks postponed

New attacks in Hormuz and Saudi Arabia as planned talks between Tehran and its neighbours are put off.

India

Brics summit ends with Xi’s AI offer, Modi’s warning on critical minerals

Bloc united on US curbs but Xi Jinping’s open-source AI pitch and India’s warning on weaponised tech reveal internal friction, analysts say.

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Middle East

Under Trump’s shadow, Brics takes step towards de-dollarisation

New Delhi Declaration pushes for cheaper and faster payments system and takes aim at sanctions and unilateral tariffs.

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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
China-India relations

Xi tells Modi of China and India’s ‘responsibilities’ as Global South powers

Leaders meet on sidelines of Brics summit in New Delhi; Indian statement says they reaffirmed that ‘differences should not become disputes’.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Brics summit venue in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: via Reuters
Mainland China

Brics members find common ground on AI, trade and de-dollarisation push

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

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Russia

Internal splits threaten to slow Brics’ progress as bloc marks 20th anniversary

The grouping has emerged as a strong champion of the Global South, but analysts warned that major challenges still lie ahead.

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Diplomacy

Editorial | Brics summit could emerge as milestone in bloc’s unity

The expected meeting between the leaders of China and India on the sidelines of the multilateral summit bodes well for stability in Asia.

Security officers stand guard beside Brics summit banners bearing images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in New Delhi, India, on September 11. Photo: AP
China-India relations

Xi in India, bank capital injections, EU-China trade

This week: Xi heads to India for Brics summit, state-owned banks and insurers get 360 billion yuan capital boost and China shows willingness to broker Trump-Kim summit. Next week: EU’s Von der Leyen delivers annual address as China trade deadline looms, defence officials attend Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Fed may raise interest rates, lanterns light up Hong Kong and more.

China-India relations

China’s Xi Jinping to make first trip to India in 7 years for Brics summit

The visit is yet another stop in a busy month of diplomacy for the president, who will be in Washington in a fortnight.

China-India relations

Opinion | Delhi’s test: make Brics work without making it work against India

Success for India isn’t replacing the West or empowering China – it’s walking away with more strategic choices and leverage.

Passengers wait at a bus stop with a signboard featuring India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on September 3, ahead of the Brics summit this weekend. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

As clock counts down to Trump summit, Xi boosts global clout with diplomatic blitz

Beijing leverages Eurasian and Middle East ties to show Washington it has alternatives.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, wave as they board a plane at the end of their visit to Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, September 2. Photo: Egyptian Presidential Press Office via AP
Diplomacy

Opinion | The significance of China’s joint air force drills with Egypt

As recent air drills in Egypt indicate, after decades of building economic interests abroad, China is developing the ability to put military power behind them.

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Indonesia

Indonesia-US joint military drills with allies kick off with 4,700 soldiers

The exercises, which have been held for nearly two decades, will include special forces infiltration training and cyberdefence drills.

China-India relations

Before Xi’s India visit, China and India confirm 8 steps to ease border tensions

Sources and experts caution against overplaying expectations, saying offers on the table fall well short of a breakthrough or grand bargain.

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Indian and Chinese troops exchange greetings along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh on the occasion of the Indian festival of Diwali in October 2024, four years after a deadly border clash. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Opinion | For states, being part of everything doesn’t mean being part of nothing

The opposite of commitment is breach, not multiplicity. A nation’s reliability isn’t measured by how many treaties it signs.

The United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York on March 25. Governments increasingly face the same demand: prove the depth of your commitment by closing the door on everyone else. Photo: Zuma press wire / dpa
China-Latin America relations

Brazil presidential debate zeroes in on Chinese investment and US tariffs

‘What matters to Lulism is that we keep buying the finished product from China while we sell ore or sell our grain’: candidate Renan Santos.

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India

Can India and China rally Brics to ease Strait of Hormuz tensions?

Analysts say a unified Brics could support Oman-led talks for a resolution and provide an alternative to US diplomacy.

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