At the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping will address the BRICS Leaders Virtual Meeting via video link from Beijing on September 8, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday.
The virtual summit comes at a time of heightened global trade tensions, with the US imposing new tariffs on BRICS economies earlier this year.
US Tariffs and Global Trade Concerns
According to Brazilian media, the meeting is expected to focus on US trade policies and tariff hikes. Brazil and India currently face 50% tariffs, the highest among BRICS members. China and South Africa face 30%, while Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE were taxed at 10%.
Brazilian officials said the meeting will stress multilateralism, reforming the WTO, and safeguarding the global trading system, while avoiding the perception that BRICS is an “anti-US bloc.”
Beyond Trade: Peace and Climate Agenda
Apart from trade, leaders are also expected to discuss the Ukraine conflict, Israel-Palestine tensions, and reforms to institutions such as the UN Security Council (UNSG).
Brazil has also placed climate on the agenda, highlighting preparations for COP-30 and the launch of the Forever Tropical Forests Fund (TFFF) in the Amazon.
A Platform for the Global South
Chinese experts emphasised that BRICS is not aimed at confronting any third country but rather at strengthening Global South cooperation.
“BRICS has a very clear positioning now. It is a cooperation platform with development as its core,” said Xu Feibiao, director at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend, while India will be represented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, not PM Modi.
Calls for Balanced Global Governance
Quoting President Xi, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong recently noted that China and its BRICS partners are committed to building a new equilibrium in world governance. Brazilian officials echoed this, stating, “The world can no longer be governed by the G7. For balance, we need a strong BRICS.”
The virtual summit follows the Rio de Janeiro Declaration in July, where BRICS leaders condemned unilateral tariffs and warned that protectionism threatens global supply chains and trade stability.
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