Full Breakdown
Xi Pushes AI-Driven Cooperation and Open-Source Development at the 2026 BRICS Summit
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Xi Calls for “AI-Empowered New Industrialisation”
Chinese President Xi Jinping used the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi (September 12-13, 2026) to announce initiatives to deepen AI collaboration among the bloc’s members. He described an “AI-empowered new industrialisation” programme linking research, development and application across supply chains, pledged Chinese support for open-source AI models, smart-manufacturing factories, and training programmes for young talent from other BRICS nations, and urged the group to resist “Cold-War thinking.”
Background: BRICS’s Growing Role in AI Governance
Now expanded to eleven members, BRICS celebrated its 20th anniversary at the summit and positioned itself as a voice for the Global South in technology policy. In 2025 the bloc issued its first leadership-level consensus on AI governance, emphasizing digital sovereignty and the right to development. Experts such as Jiang Tianjiao, a research fellow at the Center for Global AI Innovative Governance, note AI’s strategic value for productivity and public-service improvement.
Key Initiatives and Quantitative Highlights
| Initiative | Details |
|---|---|
| Open-source AI cooperation | Invitation to all BRICS members to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a Chinese-led platform for shaping global AI rules. |
| Smart-manufacturing factories | Commitment to establish “smart” production facilities that integrate AI across manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture and education. |
| Training and seminars | 5,000 AI training and seminar opportunities for developing countries over the next five years. |
| Institutional centres | Creation of the China-BRICS AI Development and Cooperation Center and the China-BRICS New Quality Productive Forces Research Center. |
| Digital infrastructure | Plans for a high-speed communications network linking member states and a BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for smart-grid and digital public-infrastructure knowledge sharing. |
| Youth and startup support | Development of a BRICS Incubator Network, a Startup Innovation Fund, and a Young Innovators Prize. |
Why It Matters for the Global South
The measures aim to narrow the AI development gap identified by BRICS scholars. Open-source models and extensive training could reduce reliance on Western AI providers, allowing customization for local languages, agriculture and public-service needs. The New Delhi Declaration stresses safety, inclusiveness and intellectual-property protections to balance rapid adoption with cultural and cybersecurity safeguards.
Official Statements & Responses
- Xi Jinping (via Xinhua) framed the AI agenda as essential for “new industrialisation” and said China stands ready to co-produce research outcomes.
- Xu Feihong, Chinese ambassador to India, highlighted the establishment of bilateral AI cooperation centres and the invitation for broader BRICS participation in WAICO.
- The Press Information Bureau of India described the summit’s technology agenda as encompassing AI-driven agriculture, smart grids, energy storage and cross-border startup collaboration, noting India’s coordination of the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture through IIT Delhi.
- BRICS leaders endorsed the New Delhi Declaration, calling for AI that is “safe, secure, inclusive and reliable” while respecting intellectual-property rights and cultural heritage.
What’s Next
- China will chair the 19th BRICS summit in 2027, expected to advance the AI-empowered industrialisation framework and expand WAICO.
- A feasibility study for the high-speed communications network will proceed.
- Pilot projects under the Digital Centre of Excellence and the BRICS Incubator Network are slated for rollout in 2027-2028, with assessments to gauge adoption by SMEs and research institutions.
The summit’s outcomes signal a coordinated BRICS push to shape AI pathways that prioritize emerging economies and offer an alternative to Western-dominated technology standards.