Chinese-hosted BRICS summit swerves controversy over Ukraine and Taiwan
- Analysts said India’s refusal to sign up to Russia and China’s anti-US agenda had derailed Beijing’s efforts to establish a common front on contentious matters
- The participants backed calls for peace talks to end the Ukraine war and rejected calls for Russia to be expelled from the G20 over its aggression
In a watered-down joint statement on Thursday, the five nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – largely avoided setting out a common stance on contentious issues such as Russia’s invasion, sanctions, the South China Sea and Taiwan.
However, some Western countries have called for Russia to be expelled from the Group of 20 and the document said: “G20 shall remain intact and respond to current global challenges.”
Beijing attached great importance to the hosting of this year’s BRICS summit and hoped to use the meeting to rally support for Moscow and Beijing’s governance model ahead of next week’s G7 and Nato summits, where Western leaders are expected to take a tough line on China.
In another worrying development from China’s perspective, leaders from Japan and South Korea have for the first time ever been invited to attend the Nato gathering.
In his opening speech to the meeting on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping, without naming any country, urged the BRICS nations to “support each other on issues concerning core interests, practice true multilateralism … reject hegemony, bullying and division”.