World without rules is like crossroads without traffic lights: Chinese President Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a five-point initiative at the BRICS summit to strengthen cooperation among Global South nations. He emphasized the need for a rules-based international order and reforms to global financial institutions to better represent developing countries.
Why it matters
Xi's rhetoric signals China's intent to position itself as a leader of the Global South and challenge Western-dominated international governance structures.
The BRICS should leverage its close ties with emerging markets and Global South to safeguard supply chains, and foster a large integrated market, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday (September 13, 2026) as he proposed a five-point initiative to boost trade, manufacturing, investment, and technology cooperation.
In an address at the concluding session of the BRICS Summit , he called upon the leaders of the grouping to work towards writing a "new chapter of strength through unity for the Global South”, asserting that the logic that "might makes right" should have been discarded long ago.
"A world without rules is like a crossroads without traffic lights, where chaos and disorder are all but guaranteed. Fairness and justice is a universal aspiration, and international rules must be written by all countries," he said.
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