BRICS can help Global South build resilience beyond supply chains: China Daily ahead of Xi-Modi meeting

The summit comes at a time of mounting pressure on the global economy, with the US-Iran war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and deepening geopolitical tensions adding to uncertainty.

Under these circumstances, BRICS cooperation can help countries in the Global South move beyond simply managing supply-chain disruptions and build more resilient, self-reliant economies, an opinion article in a Chinese publication has said.

Quick answers to key questions

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QUESTIONS

BRICS facilitates cooperation among countries in the Global South, promoting diversified trade, reducing regulatory barriers, and enhancing supply-chain security, which collectively strengthen their economic resilience.

BRICS serves as a platform to enhance supply-chain security for its member countries, enabling them to develop independent pathways to long-term growth and manage economic vulnerabilities.

This theme emphasizes the need for BRICS countries to collaborate on sustainable development, innovation, and trade practices that can withstand global economic challenges, particularly amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Increasing local currency usage in intra-BRICS trade is crucial for reducing exposure to exchange-rate volatility and enhancing economic stability, as demonstrated by its already high prevalence in China-Russia trade.

BRICS countries can enhance transport connectivity by developing cross-border infrastructure, such as maritime links and transport corridors, which facilitate smoother customs processes and cargo movements.

Published in China Daily, the article argues that growing geopolitical tensions and protectionism are exposing developing economies to repeated economic shocks. Against this backdrop, it presents the expanding BRICS grouping as a platform that can strengthen not only supply-chain security but also what it calls “development-chain resilience”.

The world economy has entered an era of repeated disruptions, the article argues.

BRICS Summit: How to move up the economic ladder

“Geopolitical tensions are deepening, protectionism is on the rise, and global industries and supply chains are becoming increasingly vulnerable to shocks. For many countries in the Global South, the problem is not just how to keep goods moving but also how to move up the economic ladder when technology barriers remain high, financial risks are mounting and traditional sources of growth are losing momentum,” the opinion article by Lan Qingxin and Pan Juncheng reads.

Lan Qingxin is the director of the BRICS Research Center at the University of International Business and Economics; and Pan Juncheng is a PhD student at the School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics.

The Global South is a term used in international relations and economics to describe developing, less-developed, or emerging economies, primarily located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania

This is where BRICS cooperation can make a difference, reads the article.

"As a major platform for the Global South, the expanding BRICS grouping is not only enhancing supply chain security but also laying the foundation for what might be called "development-chain resilience". This refers to the capacity of developing economies not just to withstand disruption but also to build stronger, more independent pathways to long-term growth," it said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is landing in New Delhi to take part in BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi today. This will be Xi's first visit to India in nearly seven years. Xi will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening.

Apart from Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are among the global leaders being hosted by PM Modi at the summit.

BRICS Summit: Xi's last visit to India was in 2019

Xi last visited India in 2019 for an informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mamallapuram near Chennai. The most recent meeting between the two leaders was on August 31, 2025, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China.

The first step toward achieving development-chain resilience is to make trade more diversified and reliable, it argues adding that BRICS brings together major agricultural producers, manufacturing economies, energy and resource exporters and large consumer markets.

“Their growing complementarity gives countries in the Global South more options for sourcing, exporting and finding partners.”

By harmonizing trade rules and reducing regulatory barriers, BRICS cooperation can help more businesses in the Global South gain access to regional and international markets, it reads.

BRICS Summit: Xiamen-Durban route example

BRICS countries have held three meetings of transport ministers focused on cross-border connectivity, the article says pointing to new air and maritime links and the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor as examples of expanding connectivity.

It cites the Xiamen-Durban route as an example of how information sharing, regulatory recognition and law-enforcement cooperation can streamline customs clearance for participating companies.

The Xiamen-Durban Secure and Smart Trade Line is a pioneering maritime shipping and customs pilot route linking Xiamen, China, with Durban, South Africa. Launched in August 2025, this initiative is a milestone cooperation project between Chinese and South African customs within the BRICS framework.

Both China and South Africa are BRICS members.

In areas of energy, food and minerals underpin resilience, BRICS cooperation is described as central to global supply-chain security.

The article argues that increasing the use of local currencies in intra-BRICS trade can reduce exposure to exchange-rate volatility. It says local-currency settlement accounts for more than 65 per cent of trade within BRICS and has reached 99 per cent in China-Russia trade.

The New Development Bank (formerly known as BRICS Development Bank) is presented as another pillar of economic resilience. The opinion piece says the bank had approved 141 projects worth $44 billion as of June 2026.

Xi's India visit is expected to be a high-profile diplomatic engagement with implications for the ongoing efforts to stabilise bilateral ties between the two Asian powers as well as for BRICS cooperation amid a volatile global situation, particularly the West Asia conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war, news agency PTI said.

Before the 2019 visit, Xi had visited Goa in 2016 to attend the BRICS summit. Xi made his first visit to India in September 2014, when he held extensive talks with Modi. The 2014 visit came during the first terms of both leaders.

BRICS Summit: India and China to normalise relations

Xi's visit is significant, as it comes amid efforts by India and China to normalise relations after a prolonged freeze following the 2020 Eastern Ladakh standoff.

Ahead of Xi's visit, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held extensive talks in Beijing last month on the boundary issue, maintaining peace along the border and steps to improve bilateral relations.

During the 25th round of Special Representatives' talks held in Beijing on 25 August, the two sides reached an eight-point consensus and agreed to advance discussions on an "Early and Substantial Harvest" of boundary delimitation and border management.

As a major platform for the Global South, the expanding BRICS grouping is not only enhancing supply chain security but also laying the foundation for what might be called 'development-chain resilience'.

Against the backdrop of these substantive discussions on the boundary and wider bilateral issues, a Modi-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit is expected to be closely watched for indications of the future course of India-China relations.