China to host 2027 BRICS summit

China will assume the BRICS chairmanship next year and host the 19th BRICS summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping said today (12 September) at the bloc's summit in New Delhi.

According to China's state-run CCTV, Xi said China would work with other BRICS members to help the bloc play a peacemaking role in the Middle East conflict, as the war "does not serve the common interests of the international community".

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was established in 2009 to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies. The bloc later expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Its members account for more than 40% of the world's population and almost a quarter of the global economy.

Xi called BRICS a "leading group" in the Global South and a model of self-reliance among emerging and developing countries that should promote innovation-driven development.

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", China's 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 United States.