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Xi Jinping urges BRICS unity against US trade issues at Lula’s summit, backing India’s chairmanship and fair practices, as Jaishankar highlights.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech. (File)
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for a unified response by BRICS nations to trade challenges posed by the United States, emphasising the need to build an open global economy.
While addressing a virtual summit of the BRICS group convened by Brazilian President Lula De Silva, Jinping said that Washington’s tariff wars severely disrupted the world economy and undermined international trade rules.
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“Hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism are getting more and more rampant. Trade wars and tariff wars waged by some country severely disrupt the world economy and undermine international trade rules,” he said, adding that the world was at a “critical juncture”.
“BRICS countries, as the leading force of the Global South, should uphold the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation to jointly defend multilateralism and maintain the multilateral trading system,” the Chinese President added.
Jinping also said the group must unite and leverage its strengths to achieve more cooperative results in trade, finance, science, and technology.
“The closer the cooperation among BRICS countries, the stronger the confidence in addressing external risks and challenges, the more solutions available and the better the results,” he said, expressing confidence that BRICS would withstand the test of changing international circumstances.
He also sought to highlight his Global Governance Initiative (GGI), a concept to preserve the world order against US dominance. He proposed the GGI at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held at Tianjin.
“The Global Governance Initiative that I proposed is aimed at galvanising joint global action for a more just and equitable global governance system,” he said, adding that the BRICS nations should safeguard the international system with the UN at its core.
Additionally, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula condemned what he described as “tariff blackmail,” as the country contends with a 50 percent import duty imposed by his US counterpart Donald Trump.
“Tariff blackmail is being normalized as an instrument for market conquest and to interfere in domestic affairs,” Lula said.
He further backed India’s Chairmanship of BRICS for next year’s summit.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also addressed the BRICS Summit and said economic practices must be fair, transparent and to everyone’s benefit in the environment of global uncertainty.
Speaking at the virtual meeting, Jaishankar said that the BRICS’s objective should be to create a more resilient supply chain at this juncture when there are multiple disruptions.
“The world as a collective is seeking a predictable and stable environment for trade and investment. At the same time, it is imperative that economic practices are fair, transparent and to everyone’s benefit. When there are multiple disruptions, our objective should be to prove it against all shorts, which means creating a more resilient supply chain. It is also essential we democratise manufacturing and production,” Jaishankar said.
(With inputs from agencies)
About the Author

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
Beijing, China
September 08, 2025, 23:49 IST
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