BRICS, from India-China point of view

The recent improvement in India-China relations remains primarily a process of stabilisation rather than comprehensive reconciliation. The underlying questions of trust have not disappeared. India will judge the credibility of Chinese assurances about partnership not only through diplomatic language but also by developments along the Line of Actual Control.

New Delhi: The New Delhi BRICS summit brought the similarities in the evolution of BRICS and the changing India-China relationship into sharp focus. The two developments reflect the same underlying reality. Globally, countries are seeking greater room for economic and diplomatic manoeuvre without committing themselves to exclusive alignments.

The New Delhi Declaration does not establish BRICS as a counter to the any US-led bloc. It seeks to widen the channels through which its members can conduct trade and grow and secure their economies. The meeting between Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping illustrates how this approach could work. Cooperation can expand even when strategic trust remains limited; economic relations can deepen without accepting economic dependence; and differences can be contained without being resolved.

BRICS’ evolution is occurring at a moment when the global system has become harder to organise around a straightforward US-China contest. The Ukraine war, the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US, continuing tensions in the Gulf, sanctions, tariffs and the increasing use of trade weaponisation as strategic policy have all emphasised the value of maintaining multiple external relationships. For many of its members, BRICS therefore offers institutional space in........

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