On the morning of September 13 local time, President Xi Jinping attended Session II of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, and delivered an important statement titled “Cementing the Foundation for BRICS Cooperation and Bolstering the Strength of the Global South.”

President Xi pointed out that this meeting is held at a time when changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. The Global South, with its collective rise, has become a key driver of world multipolarity. At the same time, the international landscape is volatile and fraught with risks and challenges. To bring stability to the world and make it a better place, BRICS countries must seize the historical initiative, rally the Global South, be an active, stabilizing and positive force in international affairs, and advance the well-being of all humanity.

President Xi stressed that Global South countries should jointly defend the rule of law in international affairs, safeguard the basic norms of international relations including sovereign equality, noninterference in internal affairs, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and ensure that international law and international rules are applied to all, free from double standards. Global South countries should hold high the banner of multilateralism, uphold the authority and role of the United Nations, support multilateral institutions in advancing reform and increasing efficiency, and see to it that reform of the World Trade Organization proceeds in the right direction. The international financial architecture must be reformed and improved to increase the representation and voice of developing countries. Global South countries should stay committed to a people-centered development philosophy and strive to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Global South countries should jointly advance security governance, tackle both traditional and nontraditional threats, improve global climate governance, and work faster to evolve a consensus-based global AI governance framework, so that new technologies can light the way toward shared prosperity.

President Xi pointed out that to accomplish great things and achieve major progress, the foundation of greater BRICS cooperation must be cemented. BRICS should leverage close ties with fellow emerging markets and Global South countries, uphold open cooperation for mutual benefit, safeguard stable and smooth industrial and supply chains, foster a large integrated market, build incubators for innovation, upgrade traditional industries, develop emerging industries, and deploy future industries. President Xi put forward five initiatives for deepening BRICS cooperation:

First, the open source and inclusive AI initiative. China will be a pioneer in establishing a BRICS AI open source community, support the cooperation in developing and applying large language models, hold specialized AI seminars and training courses, and build an open ecosystem for AI.

Second, the trade and investment facilitation initiative. China proposes to establish a BRICS special economic zone partnership, under which countries can set up an intelligent portal, coordinate policies, and build a new frontier for open development. In an effort to cultivate new drivers of economic and trade cooperation, China will hold the BRICS Forum on Trade in Services next year.

Third, the digital industry cooperation initiative. China will push for establishing a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, and conduct digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, so as to jointly enable the development of the digital economy.

Fourth, the intelligent manufacturing cooperation initiative. China stands ready to assist fellow BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing standards and norms, and jointly promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading.

Fifth, the science and technology talent development initiative. China proposes to set up a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint development of engineers and mutual recognition of competency standards. China will launch a BRICS youth exchange program for scientific and technological innovation, so as to cultivate more high-caliber talent.

President Xi stressed that this year marks the launch of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. It is both a blueprint for China’s development and a cooperation list for the rest of the world. China will continue to advance high-quality development, expand high-standard opening up, implement the Global Development Initiative, and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to share opportunities and prosper together with all countries, and jointly write a new chapter of strength through unity for the Global South.

The session was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the UAE’s Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khaled bin Mohamed, Brazilian and Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministers, leaders or representatives of BRICS partner countries and guest countries, and Secretary General António Guterres of the United Nations and other heads of international organizations, and chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Before the session, President Xi took a group photo with participating leaders.

Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, attended the above event.