India hosts expanded BRICS summit as Xi Jinping expected to attend, agenda focuses on trade, tech and green energy
The 18th BRICS Leaders Summit is taking place in New Delhi on September 12‑13, bringing together the original members and newer partners such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to join the summit, marking his first visit to India since 2019, as both sides work to ease border tensions following recent diplomatic talks. India’s chairmanship emphasizes practical cooperation, with initiatives on global value chains, SME financing, a startup innovation fund, AI and green‑energy projects.
Security arrangements have been stepped up across the capital, with police and paramilitary forces deployed to manage movement and protect the venue at Bharat Mandapam. The summit also highlights India’s effort to balance relations with Russia, China and Western partners while pursuing multilateral reforms.
How this was covered
- Right-leaning outlets covered this 30h later
Why it matters
The summit could shape trade, technology and climate cooperation among a growing bloc of economies while influencing India’s diplomatic balance with major powers.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage stresses the benefits India hopes to reap from the summit, centrist coverage reports the leaders’ attendance, geopolitical tensions and the bloc’s purpose, while right-leaning coverage focuses on Brazil’s diplomat rejecting an anti-West portrayal of BRICS.
LEFT
Frames the summit as an opportunity for India to extract strategic and economic gains.
CENTER
Frames the summit as a high-profile diplomatic event marked by Xi’s attendance, war-related challenges, and questions about BRICS’s overall purpose.
RIGHT
Frames the summit through the lens of countering claims that BRICS is an anti-Western bloc.
The left emphasises
- "What India Gets Out of BRICS"
- "New Delhi is pulling out the stops"
The right emphasises
- "rejects anti-West framing for the grouping"
- "cautioned against characterising the grouping as an anti-Western bloc"
How this story developed
- Sep 4 India Hosts 2026 BRICS Leaders Summit with Global Leaders in New Delhi
- Sep 9 A bilateral meeting between Modi and Putin has been added to the summit agenda.
- Sep 9 India is positioning the summit as a development‑oriented bridge and has set aside the idea of a shared BRICS currency.
- Sep 10 India’s chairmanship delivered 20 sector‑specific agreements on SMEs, startups and supply‑chain resilience.
- Sep 10 Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the summit, marking his first visit to India since 2019.
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