Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the BRICS bloc to be a peacemaker in the Middle East conflict, in an address to a summit of member countries in New Delhi yesterday.
China will work with other BRICS members in that role, as the war “does not serve the common interests of the international community”, state-run CCTV quoted Xi as saying.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE, was set up in 2009 to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies.
Its members account for more than 40 per cent of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the global economy.
The Chinese leader called the bloc a ‘leading group’ in the Global South and a model of self-reliance among emerging and developing countries that should promote innovation-driven development.
He said China would assume the BRICS chairmanship next year, and host the 19th BRICS summit, according to CCTV.
In a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit, Xi said China views ties with India from a ‘strategic, long-term perspective’, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
China and India can learn from each other’s strengths and achieve shared development, Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
Xi’s visit to New Delhi, his first to India in seven years, should further the diplomatic thaw between the giant neighbours, but there are few signs as yet that their business ties will improve, analysts said.
China and India fought a brief war in 1962, setting the backdrop for a wary relationship since then, which soured after a 2020 border skirmish killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers. Still, ties have improved in recent years, especially since Modi visited China last year and as both nations grapple with volatile relationships with the US
Meanwhile, Iran and the UAE signed up to a joint statement from the BRICS group of nations that called for restraint in the Middle East war yesterday, in what was seen as a sign of diplomatic progress between the countries divided by the war.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the first day of the New Delhi summit, in the countries’ highest-level meeting since the start of the conflict.
The two leaders discussed regional and international issues, de-escalation, stability, and efforts to advance regional peace and development, the Abu Dhabi media office said on X, without referring to any resolution to the discussions.
Summit organisers and diplomats have been focused on bridging the Iran-UAE divide, even as the US and Iran resume tit-for-tat strikes in the six-month-old war.
Such a joint statement was unlikely to influence the current geopolitical landscape, but would demonstrate unity by a grouping of emerging nations, they said.
Iran has launched repeated attacks on the UAE during the conflict, most recently in late August when it targeted the Al Minhad Air Base that housed US forces and helicopters.
Host India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the bloc had come of age and it was time to translate its unity and consensus into concrete results on the global stage, as he opened the meeting.
The BRICS bloc is seeking to raise its profile by influencing international rules and demanding the reform of institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation, which some members view as being dominated by Western powers.
New Delhi, which has strong ties with the US, Russia, Israel, Iran and the Gulf Arab states, is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act, with Modi pushing BRICS members to boost trade co-operation, reduce barriers and expand business opportunities.
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