China has confirmed President Xi Jinping will participate in Brazil’s virtual BRICS summit on Monday to address Donald Trump’s escalating trade policies, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will skip the meeting and send India’s foreign minister as his representative.
High-Level Participation
“President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS Leaders’ online summit in Beijing on September 8 and deliver an important speech,” China’s Foreign Ministry announced. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also join the gathering, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed last week, according to Russian news agency Tass.
BRICS Summit Objectives
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva convened the emergency meeting to discuss Trump’s trade tariffs and rally major emerging market leaders in support of multilateralism, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the planning.
The expanded BRICS bloc, which includes South Africa and new members from Asia and the Middle East, has increasingly attracted Trump’s criticism. In July, he threatened additional tariffs on countries aligning with the group’s “anti-American policies” and repeatedly criticized BRICS efforts to boost trade in local currencies while bypassing the dollar.
India’s Diplomatic Balance
New Delhi’s cautious approach reflects recent tensions with Washington. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, confirmed Friday that “PM Modi would not be attending. Instead, the South Asian nation will be represented by its foreign minister.”
India has navigated carefully after Trump softened his tone following weeks of friction over 50% US tariffs on Indian goods.
Recent Diplomatic Activities
The summit occurs during intense diplomatic activity. Xi recently hosted Putin and Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, and welcomed dozens of world leaders including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to Beijing for a September 3 military parade marking World War II’s 80th anniversary.
About BRICS Meeting Format
Monday’s virtual session, starting 8 AM ET, will last only a couple of hours, according to a Brazilian government official. Speeches will be closed to press, with individual leaders deciding whether to publish remarks. No joint statement will be issued.
The gathering highlights growing tensions between the US and major emerging economies amid escalating trade disputes.
