On September 12-13 local time, the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit was held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, with India serving as the rotating chair. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a major address at the summit's Session II, announcing that China would take the lead in establishing a BRICS artificial intelligence open-source community, supporting cooperation among members on developing and applying large language models, holding AI seminars and training courses, and jointly building an open and inclusive AI ecosystem. Several international outlets characterized the announcement as a significant move by China to compete for influence over global AI governance and to position itself as a counterweight to the US-led approach to the technology.

According to remarks published by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Xinhua News Agency, Xi delivered an address at the summit's Session II proposing several initiatives to deepen BRICS cooperation, three of which received particular media attention. First, an "open and inclusive AI initiative," under which China would take the lead in establishing a BRICS AI open-source community, supporting cooperation on developing and applying large language models, and holding AI seminars and training courses to build an open AI ecosystem. Second, a "trade and investment facilitation initiative," proposing a BRICS special economic zone partnership, the establishment of "smart ports/gateways," greater policy coordination, and new open development zones, with China saying it would host a BRICS Service Trade Forum next year to create fresh growth drivers for economic and trade cooperation. Third, a "science and technology talent cultivation initiative," proposing a BRICS Engineers Training Alliance to conduct joint engineer training and mutual recognition of competency standards, alongside a BRICS Youth Innovation and Technology Exchange Program to cultivate more high-end technical talent. The AI issue was placed first in the address. Xi stressed that BRICS members should work together to make AI technology more broadly accessible, so as to avoid widening the technological gap between developing and developed countries, and said China stands ready to offer other BRICS members support in technology, experience and resources.

The open-source community initiative is seen as a continuation of China's strategy in recent years to push international AI cooperation. As early as 2023, China had already put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative on various multilateral platforms, advocating equal emphasis on development and security and equal rights for all countries in AI governance. Then in July, at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai, Xi further announced the formal establishment of the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), widely read as a significant step by China to advance international cooperation on AI governance. Analysts note that China has in recent years actively promoted the expansion of its self-developed open-source large language models — including Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM — into countries of the Global South, and that this BRICS initiative extends that approach onto a multilateral platform, aiming to offer developing countries an alternative technology option that does not depend on a small number of developed countries and companies.

Chinese state media gave the initiative a positive assessment. CGTN cited experts as saying Xi's remarks provided a clear roadmap for deepening BRICS cooperation and would help the BRICS mechanism build collective momentum in the key emerging field of AI. Bloomberg and other foreign outlets reported that Xi's AI proposal came at a time when China and the United States were locked in intensifying competition over AI technology standards and chip export controls, with China seeking to use the BRICS platform to consolidate its technological influence among Global South countries.

Looking at the summit's overall context, this year's meeting was held under the theme "Building Resilient, Innovative, Cooperative and Sustainable BRICS," with host Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India stressing a "people-first" philosophy in his opening remarks. The BRICS mechanism has now expanded to ten member states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. On September 12, the attending leaders unanimously adopted the 140-paragraph New Delhi Declaration, the summit's most important consensus document, covering a wide range of issues including reform of global governance, international conflicts, trade and finance, energy and climate, technology, health, agriculture, and people-to-people exchange — with Xi's remarks on both AI cooperation and the Middle East situation falling within the scope of topics addressed by the declaration.

Beyond the AI issue, Xi also addressed the situation in the Middle East, calling on BRICS nations to jointly seek a peaceful resolution to the regional conflict and to play a constructive mediating role. He said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has caused severe losses for people in the region, a situation that runs counter to the common interests of the international community, and he called on all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation. The conflict in question refers to the military confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran that erupted on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched large-scale air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and missile programs, at one point killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and numerous other senior officials; Iran subsequently retaliated with strikes on US and Israeli military and energy-related targets across several Middle Eastern countries. By the time the summit convened in mid-September, the confrontation had continued for more than 200 days, with the regional situation remaining tense.

During the summit, the attending BRICS leaders unanimously adopted a joint declaration expressing "deep concern" over the situation in the Middle East, calling on all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint, and advocating a multilateral approach that respects each country's position in handling the dispute, while reaffirming their continued commitment to resolving international disputes through dialogue, consultation and diplomacy.

Commentators noted that because BRICS members include both Iran and the United Arab Emirates — the latter widely regarded as a key US partner in the Middle East — reaching consensus on the Middle East issue in the joint declaration was a considerable challenge for host India. This was compounded by ongoing confrontational military actions between the United States and Iran at the time, which made the regional situation even more complex and sensitive. In the end, the declaration's wording was relatively moderate and emphasized multilateral consultation, seen as a compromise that balanced the positions of all member states.

That said, some observers remain cautious about how far the initiative will actually advance, noting that BRICS members differ considerably in development levels, technological capacity and geopolitical interests — particularly China and India, which have continued to experience border friction in recent years, leaving it unclear whether the two can achieve deep cooperation in a sensitive technology area such as AI. In addition, the United States has continued tightening export controls on high-end chips to China in recent years, meaning how to carry out large-scale training and deployment of open-source large language models without full reliance on US chip technology is another practical challenge China's initiative must overcome as it moves toward implementation.

Overall, Xi's remarks at this BRICS summit on both AI cooperation and Middle East peace were read as a dual effort by China to simultaneously advance its technological voice and its involvement in regional security issues on international multilateral platforms, and as a continuation of the "Global South" cooperation tone set at the previous, 17th BRICS summit, hosted by Brazil in July 2025 under the theme "Strengthening Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance." As of now, China has not disclosed details such as a specific launch timetable, organizational structure or funding arrangements for the BRICS AI open-source community, with further implementation still to be determined through additional consultation among the parties.