China outlines AI, smart manufacturing vision for BRICS
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged BRICS nations to unite the Global South to counter international volatility and double standards. He proposed a five-point initiative focused on AI and smart manufacturing to advance the digital future of the bloc.
Why it matters
China's push for technological cooperation within BRICS signals a strategic effort to build an alternative digital and economic order independent of Western influence.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday (September 13, 2026) called on the BRICS countries to “rally the Global South” to ensure that an increasingly volatile international order was “free from double standards”, even as he offered a five-point AI and smart manufacturing initiative to take forward the digital future of the grouping.
Speaking at the second session of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Mr. Xi, who departed for Beijing on Sunday (September 13, 2026) afternoon after a 24-hour visit to India, said the global landscape was currently “volatile and fraught with risks and challenges”.
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