BRICS leaders voice concern over Middle East, condemn unilateral sanctions at India summit

During a summit in New Delhi, Chinese President Xi Jinping called upon the BRICS coalition to assume a peacekeeping role in the Middle East conflict. In a joint declaration, BRICS leaders endorsed dialogue and diplomacy as means to resolve disputes and diminish global tensions. The bloc, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded to incorporate Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates in 2018.

Xi emphasized that war is detrimental to the interests of the international community. He asserted that BRICS, representing over 40% of the world’s population and a quarter of the global economy, should serve as a model for self-reliant development and innovation in the Global South. As the upcoming BRICS chair, China pledged to lead the organization, which will host the 19th summit.

During a side meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Xi highlighted China's strategic, long-term outlook towards India's ties. He proposed that both nations could benefit from learning from each other's strengths to achieve shared development. The visit, Xi's first to India in seven years, is anticipated to further the diplomatic thaw between the two giants.

However, analysts note that China and India's business ties have not shown significant improvement, given their complex historical relationship dating back to a brief war in 1962 and a 2020 border clash that claimed 20 Indian and four Chinese lives. Despite this, their ties have been gradually improving, particularly following Modi's visit to China last year and the mutual pursuit of strained U.S. relations.