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Brics

Brics
Brics (an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) refers to an association of 10 leading emerging markets. The other member states are Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2025. Photo: PIB/AFP
China-India relations

Xi in India, bank capital injections, EU-China trade

This week: Xi heads to India for Brics summit, state-owned banks and insurers get 360 billion yuan capital boost and China shows willingness to broker Trump-Kim summit. Next week: EU’s Von der Leyen delivers annual address as China trade deadline looms, defence officials attend Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Fed may raise interest rates, lanterns light up Hong Kong and more.

China-India relations

China’s Xi Jinping to make first trip to India in 7 years for Brics summit

China-India relations

Opinion | Delhi’s test: make Brics work without making it work against India

US-China relations

As clock counts down to Trump summit, Xi boosts global clout with diplomatic blitz

Beijing leverages Eurasian and Middle East ties to show Washington it has alternatives.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, wave as they board a plane at the end of their visit to Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, September 2. Photo: Egyptian Presidential Press Office via AP
Diplomacy

Opinion | The significance of China’s joint air force drills with Egypt

As recent air drills in Egypt indicate, after decades of building economic interests abroad, China is developing the ability to put military power behind them.

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Indonesia

Indonesia-US joint military drills with allies kick off with 4,700 soldiers

The exercises, which have been held for nearly two decades, will include special forces infiltration training and cyberdefence drills.

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China-India relations

Before Xi’s India visit, China and India confirm 8 steps to ease border tensions

Sources and experts caution against overplaying expectations, saying offers on the table fall well short of a breakthrough or grand bargain.

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Indian and Chinese troops exchange greetings along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh on the occasion of the Indian festival of Diwali in October 2024, four years after a deadly border clash. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Opinion | For states, being part of everything doesn’t mean being part of nothing

The opposite of commitment is breach, not multiplicity. A nation’s reliability isn’t measured by how many treaties it signs.

China-Latin America relations

Brazil presidential debate zeroes in on Chinese investment and US tariffs

‘What matters to Lulism is that we keep buying the finished product from China while we sell ore or sell our grain’: candidate Renan Santos.

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India

Can India and China rally Brics to ease Strait of Hormuz tensions?

Analysts say a unified Brics could support Oman-led talks for a resolution and provide an alternative to US diplomacy.

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Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Monday. Photo: AFP
China-Latin America relations

Brazil turns to China trade deal after Trump tariffs, as years of resistance end

Xi and Lula agree to fast track Mercosur trade talks, endorsing a deal Brasilia fought to bury when Uruguay first proposed it.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (left), seen here with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia, Brazil, in November, 2024. The pair have agreed to accelerate negotiations for a trade agreement between China and Mercosur. Photo: Xinhua
China-Latin America relations

China vows to defend Brazil’s sovereignty as Trump’s 25% tariff bites

Wang Yi tells Brazilian foreign minister Beijing backs Brazil’s sovereignty, and asks for support on ‘China’s own core interests’ in return.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | What the Iran war has revealed about Brics+

Those arguing that the conflict has exposed the grouping as a failure misunderstand its role.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | How Asia can benefit from a Russia-India-China dialogue revival

Far from acting as another bloc, such a grouping could help ensure that regional competition is managed rather than reproduced.

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(From left to right) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. Photo: SPUTNIK / AFP
Diplomacy

Outside In | Xi-Trump summit aside, 2 meetings in Asia matter for global trade

As Trump travelled to Beijing for the kind of bilateral dealmaking he prefers, two groups have continued their multilateral efforts.

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US tech bosses and officials attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14 as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrive. Photo: AP
Trade

Opinion | Brics is less a structure than a sentiment

Despite lacking geopolitical alignment, Brics captures a prevailing mood among emerging economies that won’t fade away any time soon.

India

Iran’s ‘anti-American’ rhetoric tests India’s balancing act at Brics meeting

Foreign Minister Araghchi seeks the bloc’s backing against US pressure in New Delhi, but India likely to prioritise de-escalation and trade.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Just because Brics isn’t a coherent bloc doesn’t mean it’s impotent

The grouping has a future, not as a binding structure demanding policy alignment but as a tool for members to enhance leverage and maximise options.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US, Israel war on Iran

Iran war tests India’s Brics leadership as ‘political relevance’ questions mount

With Brics members Iran and the UAE as belligerents, the bloc has failed to reach a common position on the Middle East conflict.

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Banking & finance

Brics to push for intra-currency payments as ‘immunity’ against Western clout

New Delhi has to be wary of any move to challenge the US dollar as it seeks to sign an interim trade deal with Washington, analysts say.

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China-India relations

Opinion | India’s reopening to Chinese investment reflects strategic pragmatism

Concerns about signalling weakness misread India’s careful policy design. Foreign investment rules have not been abolished, only recalibrated.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “Make in India” ambitions for the country. Allowing cautious Chinese investment would enable Indian companies to localise supply chains rather than remain dependent on imports. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong can play vital part in boosting crucial China-India relations

India is a vibrant, emerging and complex power with much to offer the city and China as a whole.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US, Israel war on Iran

Why has the US-Israeli war on Iran left Brics speechless?

As Tehran retaliates against its Gulf neighbours, the newly expanded bloc built for trade is discovering the limits of its own unity.

US, Israel war on Iran

Open Questions | Iran war’s impact on China limited, scholar Pan Guang says

China’s Middle East position ‘relatively favourable’, professor says, and regional spillover from US-Israeli attacks likely to be limited to Tehran’s Shia militia allies.

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Currencies

Why Brics can’t do away with US dollar even as currency cooperation rises

Brazil says there has been no proposal or talks within Brics to create a common currency across the bloc.

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Brics leaders meet at their 2025 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: AFP
India

India and Brazil set sights on US$30 billion trade milestone by 2030

The two founding Brics members are deepening links on rare earths, innovation and AI to diversify growth beyond the West.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a press conference after a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: EPA
Africa

African Union: youth anger mounts over corruption, lack of accountability

Africa has the youngest population in the world, with more than 400 million people aged 15 to 35 years old – set to double by 2050.

China-India relations

China and India seek reset in talks, but old fault lines remain

Beijing stresses partnership and multilateralism; New Delhi underscores border stability, caution and gradual steps after years of strain.

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