The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has received a red-carpet welcome in India for a summit of Brics developing nations, as regional rivals Beijing and Delhi make a public display of thawing relations while quietly competing to lead at a time of shaky US global dominance.
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Beijing → receive → dominance
As Xi stepped off the plane, he was walked past an honour guard of Indian soldiers and traditional dancers in colourful dresses.
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he → step → dresses
Later on Saturday, he was due to attend a gala dinner for the two-day summit.
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he → attend → summit
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, had already been welcomed by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, who is hosting one of the group’s most closely watched gatherings since its inception.
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who → welcome → inception
The summit marks Xi’s first visit to India in seven years and is seen as the biggest step towards reconciliation after a deadly 2020 military clash along the disputed Himalayan border, in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed.
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soldiers → mark → which
Ties between the nuclear-armed Asian giants have been warming recently, with flights and high-level contacts gradually being restored.
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flights → arm → giants
China was “willing” to work with India to properly manage differences and be “good neighbours and friends”, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
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ministry → will → Friday
Leaders and diplomats have been convening in India for the annual gathering of the Brics grouping, named after five of its earliest members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – that was conceived as a counterweight to western dominance.
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that → convene → dominance
This summit comes as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with rising US-China tensions, test the bloc’s ability to find common ground.
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wars → come → ground
Since its inception in 2009, Brics has expanded as a forum for major emerging economies to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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Brics → expand → Egypt
The group now rivals the US-dominated G7 forum of advanced economies, accounting for half of the global population.
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group → rival → population
But its growth has also created new fractures and disunity – Iran was bombing Saudi Arabia and the UAE earlier this year, and Brics foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement when they met in Delhi in May.
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they → create → May
On Saturday, the bloc managed to unanimously agree on the wording of a joint declaration that reiterated a commitment to peaceful resolution of international disputes “through dialogue, consultation and diplomacy”.
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that → manage → dialogue
The “New Delhi declaration” called for “maximum restraint” in the Middle East, although it was worded so as not to call out member countries actively involved in conflicts.
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it → call → conflicts
Jiang Shixue, the vice-president of the expert committee of the China thinktank Council for BRICs cooperation (China), said the 11 members “cannot speak with one voice on many issues”.
“The only solution is to continuously strengthen political consensus,” he told the South China Morning Post.
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he → say → Post
Beijing and Delhi have differing views on the role of the group.
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Beijing → have → group
China has sought to expand Brics power as a counterweight to the US under Donald Trump’s leadership, which has launched global tariff and trade wars and retreated from multilateral institutions such as the UN, which afforded it international credibility.
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which → seek → credibility
India has taken a more cautious approach, seeing Brics as a bridge between the west and the developing world.
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India → take → west
Saturday’s talks began with an address by Modi, who said Brics was “not against anyone”.
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Brics → begin → anyone
Chietigj Bajpaee, a senior research fellow for South Asia in the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House, said this week that Delhi had found it hard to maintain its policy of “strategic hedging” during such a disruptive US presidency.
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it → say → presidency
“India’s position can appear out of sync in a forum whose membership includes countries with more overtly anti-western agendas, including China, Russia and Iran.
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membership → appear → China
And two other Brics countries, South Africa and Brazil, have suffered high-profile diplomatic disputes with the US,” he wrote.
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he → suffer → US
“The challenge for Delhi is that it wishes to promote this worldview in a way that is non-western but not explicitly anti-western.”
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that → wish → way
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
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Presse → contribute → report
The Aporia
