Xi, Putin to Join BRICS Virtual Trade Summit; Modi to Send Envoy
China has confirmed that President Xi Jinping will participate in a virtual BRICS summit hosted by Brazil to deliberate on U.S. trade policy under Donald Trump. India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will not attend personally but will be represented by his foreign minister.
“President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS Leaders’ online summit in Beijing on Sept. 8 and deliver an important speech,” China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday. The Kremlin also confirmed last week, through spokesman Dmitry Peskov, that Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the session, Russian news agency Tass reported.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva convened the summit to discuss U.S. tariffs imposed by Trump and to rally emerging economies in support of multilateral trade systems, Bloomberg reported.
The BRICS bloc—which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has drawn Trump’s criticism as it expands ties with new members in Asia and the Middle East. In July, Trump threatened new tariffs against countries aligning with what he described as BRICS’ “anti-American policies.” He has also opposed the group’s push to strengthen trade in local currencies instead of the U.S. dollar.
Ironically, Trump’s tariffs have accelerated cooperation among BRICS members, particularly with China. Last week, Xi hosted Putin and Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, and also welcomed dozens of world leaders, including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, to Beijing for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end.
India, meanwhile, has taken a cautious approach in balancing relations with Washington. Tensions over U.S. tariffs of up to 50% on Indian exports recently eased after Trump softened his tone toward New Delhi. On Friday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed Modi would skip the summit, with spokesman Randhir Jaiswal announcing that its foreign minister would represent the country.
The BRICS meeting is set for today Monday, September 8, starting at 8 a.m. ET, and is expected to last only a few hours. According to Brazilian officials, the speeches will not be open to the press, and each leader will decide individually whether to publish their remarks. No joint communiqué is planned at the end of the meeting.
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