The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, not only reviewed the achievements made by BRICS over the past 20 years, but also was a pivotal event for bringing the Global South more stability and positive energy amid a turbulent international landscape.

BRICS is the acronym for an emerging market cooperative mechanism that initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Over the two decades since its inception, the BRICS mechanism has expanded to 11 member countries and 10 partner countries.

On September 12-13, within just 24 hours in the Indian capital, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended nearly 10 events, joining other BRICS leaders to discuss major development plans and chart a new course for cooperation. He also conducted in-depth talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on shaping the future of China-India relations.

Efforts by BRICS countries to increase unity and strength are major drivers of progress for the entire Global South and have a steadily increasing impact on the international order. The New Delhi Declaration adopted at the summit reaffirmed the commitment to reforming and improving global governance by promoting a more just, equitable and representative international and multilateral system. From the proposal to empower new industrialization through AI to deploring attempts to unilaterally undermine the work of global multilateral institutions, the declaration has addressed many of the shared concerns of the Global South with a pragmatic agenda for action and sent a powerful message of BRICS solidarity, cooperation and joint development.

Particularly noteworthy is the fact that Chinese and Indian leaders held bilateral meetings for the third consecutive year, which is of strategic importance for ensuring regional stability and exerting a positive influence on the broader landscape. During his meeting with Modi, Xi proposed calibrating the direction of bilateral relations with an objective and rational strategic perception, emphasizing that China and India are partners rather than rivals. Modi made a clear response that India hopes to be a partner, not a rival, of China. This consensus consolidates the positive momentum that exists in China-India relations and clears key obstacles for practical cooperation within the BRICS framework.

Next year, China will host the 19th BRICS Summit. It will seize the opportunity to build consensus and work with all parties to usher in a third golden decade of BRICS cooperation.