Xi targets US at BRICS summit, opposing 'bloc confrontation' and proposing AI cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting India for the BRICS summit, delivered sharp criticism aimed at the United States on Saturday, rejecting Cold War thinking and bloc confrontation from the summit stage.

In a keynote address at the 18th BRICS Summit held at Bharat Mandapam International Convention Centre in New Delhi on Saturday (local time), Xi said BRICS nations must "oppose Cold War thinking and bloc confrontation, and oppose violations of other countries' sovereignty and interference in their internal affairs," according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Although Xi did not name any country directly, the remarks were widely interpreted as targeting the United States, which has been engaged in a full-scale war with Iran for more than six months. Xi said the situation in the Middle East and Gulf region "remains complex," and urged all parties involved to "uphold the direction of a political resolution and work toward achieving a permanent and comprehensive truce." He added that the war in the Middle East "has caused serious harm to the peoples of the countries in the region and does not serve the common interests of the international community," and said China would work alongside BRICS members to play its due role in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East and Gulf region.

Xi also highlighted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the BRICS grouping and officially announced that China, as next year's chair, will host the 19th BRICS Summit. He said BRICS nations have "joined hands to respond to challenges including the international financial crisis, the pandemic and climate change," and assessed that the bloc had "firmly defended the common interests of the Global South" and entered a new stage of high-quality development in broader BRICS cooperation.

Xi proposed AI and supply chain strengthening as avenues for future economic and industrial cooperation. He put forward a "BRICS AI-Based New Industrialization Initiative," calling on member states to deepen cooperation on industrial and supply chains, and asked BRICS members to actively participate in the World AI Cooperation Organization, which China launched this year.

Meanwhile, Xi's visit to India — his first in seven years since 2019 — includes bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit. The two leaders have continued high-level exchanges following the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, and last year's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China, sustaining a trajectory of normalizing relations between the two countries.