Xi also put development and economic cooperation at the centre of his BRICS pitch, urging countries to pursue people-centred development and work towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
PM Modi and Xi Jinping
- Xi calls for stronger rule-based international order.
- Urges Global South to defend international law.
- Proposes 5 BRICS initiatives for cooperation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday called for a stronger rule-based international order and urged Global South countries to jointly defend international law, saying a “world without rules” could lead to chaos and disorder.
After departing from the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi this afternoon, Xi said international rules must be written by all countries and rejected the idea that “might makes right” should determine global affairs.
“A world without rules is like a crossroads without traffic lights, where chaos and disorder are all but guaranteed,” Xi said.
He called on Global South countries to uphold sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and the peaceful settlement of disputes. He also said international law and global rules must be applied equally, without double standards.
Xi also put development and economic cooperation at the centre of his BRICS pitch, urging countries to pursue people-centred development and work towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
He said China’s Global Development Initiative, launched five years ago, has led to more than 2,000 projects in partnership with other countries and training for over 200,000 professionals across more than 120 countries.
Turning to BRICS cooperation, Xi proposed five initiatives focused on artificial intelligence, trade and investment, the digital economy, intelligent manufacturing, and science and technology talent.
Under the open source and inclusive AI initiative, China plans to establish a BRICS AI open source community, promote cooperation on large language models and organise AI seminars and training programmes.
Xi also proposed a BRICS special economic zone partnership to facilitate trade and investment, along with a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform aimed at boosting digital skills, technology exchange and industrial cooperation.
On manufacturing, China offered to support BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing common standards as part of efforts to upgrade traditional industries and accelerate industrial transformation.
The fifth initiative involves setting up a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance and launching a youth exchange programme focused on scientific and technological innovation.
Xi said the initiatives would help deepen cooperation among emerging markets and Global South countries while strengthening industrial and supply-chain links and building a larger integrated market.
He also highlighted China’s expanding economic engagement, saying Beijing had granted zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations and would continue to widen its unilateral opening-up.
