India, China and the Future of BRICS

The 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13 offered insights into a changing global order, in particular the growing strategic rivalry between China and India. Against this backdrop, the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the Mercator Insitute for China Studies (MERICS) hosted an online discussion on September 17 from 12:00 to 13:00 CET.

While BRICS is often portrayed as an emerging counterweight to the West, its members have very different interests and ambitions. China seeks to strengthen BRICS as a pillar of a more multipolar international order, while India is determined to expand its room for manoeuvre without allowing Beijing to dominate the grouping. Russia and Iran hope to reduce their vulnerabilities to Western sanctions and the dollar-centred financial system. By contrast, India and Brazil have little interest in turning BRICS into an openly anti-Western alliance. The summit is therefore less likely to demonstrate the emergence of a cohesive “anti-Western bloc” than to reveal who will shape the future direction of the Global South.

Our experts examined what the New Delhi meeting tells us about the evolving relationship between India and China, the future trajectory of BRICS, and the implications for Europe.

Speakers:
Miriam Prys-Hansen, Lead Research Fellow, GIGA

Tobias Scholz, Researcher, SWP

Eva Seiwert, Senior Analyst, MERICS

Moderator:
Julia Gurol-Haller, Research Fellow, GIGA