BRICS summit lists measures to boost trade

Putin scores big win with rare Xi-Modi show of harmony

KAZAN, RUSSIA:

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used a BRICS summit in Russia on Wednesday to showcase ambitions for a more harmonious relationship between the world's two most populous countries after years of animosity.

The meeting between Xi and Modi, who have not held formal talks for five years, was one highlight of a summit which President Vladimir Putin sought to use to show that the West had failed to isolate Russia over the Ukraine war.

A final communique listed a number of projects aimed at facilitating trade between BRICS nations – including an alternative payment system to the dollar – but did not include details or timelines.

Just two days after New Delhi announced that it had reached a deal with Beijing to resolve a four-year military stand-off on their disputed Himalayan frontier, Xi told Modi that they should enhance communication and cooperation and effectively manage differences.

"It is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples for China and India to correctly grasp the trend of history and the direction of development of their relations," Xi said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

In response, Modi told Xi that maintaining peace and stability on their frontier should be a priority, and that mutual trust, respect and sensitivity should be the basis of the relationship.

"We welcome the agreement on the issues that had come up over the last four years," Modi told Xi in comments that were aired on India's state broadcaster Doordarshan.

BRICS – an idea thought up inside Goldman Sachs two decades ago to describe the growing economic clout of China and other major emerging markets – is now a group that accounts for 45% of the world's population and 35% of the global economy.

The BRICS summit clashes with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. Former Goldman economist Jim O'Neill, who coined the BRIC term in 2001, told Reuters that he had little optimism for the BRICS club as long as China and India remained so divided.

Ukraine war

Putin, who dismisses Western claims that he was a war criminal for Russia's actions in Ukraine, hosted more than 20 leaders at the summit in the city of Kazan on the banks of the Volga, including Tayyip Erdogan, who leads NATO member Turkey, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.