On Monday, September 8, 2025, leaders from across the globe gathered virtually for a high-stakes BRICS summit, convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The meeting, which brought together heads of state and senior representatives from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Indonesia, and several newly inducted members, took place against a backdrop of mounting global economic uncertainty, intensifying trade wars, and ideological clashes over the future of the international order.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, one of the summit's most closely watched participants, delivered a forceful speech urging the BRICS bloc to stand united against what he described as the rising tide of protectionism, unilateralism, and hegemonism. "We must uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core and resist all forms of protectionism," Xi declared, according to Central News. He warned that trade and tariff wars were "severely disrupting the world economy and undermining international trade rules," and called for a renewed commitment to openness and shared prosperity.
Xi's proposals to the BRICS group were clear and ambitious. First, he advocated for upholding multilateralism and increasing the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance. Second, he called for promoting an open world economy by jointly opposing all forms of protectionism and advancing the Global Development Initiative. Third, he stressed the importance of strengthening people-to-people exchanges to foster mutual understanding and friendship among BRICS nations. These proposals, Xi argued, were in keeping with the "BRICS Spirit" of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation—a spirit he believes is essential for building a community with a shared future for humanity.
The significance of Xi's remarks was amplified by the evolving composition and growing clout of the BRICS bloc. What began as a coalition of five major emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia. The group now represents over 45% of the world's population and 28% of global GDP, according to Central News. This expansion has enhanced BRICS' ability to advocate for the interests of the Global South, particularly at a time when many developing economies feel squeezed by Western-dominated financial systems and trade regimes.
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto echoed Xi's sentiments during the summit, describing BRICS as "a very strong pillar of stability and hope in the current international geopolitical situation," as reported by Bernama. Prabowo emphasized the bloc's scale and influence, noting that its members account for more than 55% of the world's population and over 40% of global GDP. He called for closer cooperation and coordination among BRICS nations, warning that in a world where "might makes right," smaller countries are at risk of intimidation or economic coercion. "We consider now this is the time that BRICS must continue to evolve," Prabowo stated, urging the group to adapt in order to address the challenges of an increasingly volatile global landscape.
He also voiced strong support for China's initiatives, stressing the importance of openness, adherence to international law, and mutual consultation. For Prabowo and many other leaders from the Global South, BRICS represents not only an economic powerhouse but also a bulwark against the use of trade and finance as weapons by larger powers. The summit, attended by leaders from Brazil, China, Egypt, Iran, Russia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and India, provided a rare forum for candid dialogue on these pressing issues.
Yet even as BRICS leaders presented a united front, the group faced a barrage of criticism from abroad—most notably from Peter Navarro, the former White House trade adviser and a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump. In a televised interview on September 9, 2025, Navarro launched a scathing attack on the bloc, accusing its members of "unfair trade practices" and describing them as "vampires sucking our blood dry," according to Marksmen Daily.
Navarro's rhetoric was particularly pointed toward India, which he labeled the "Maharaja of tariffs" due to its high duties on American goods. He alleged that India was profiting from Russian oil imports, thereby indirectly financing Russia's military actions in Ukraine—a claim he punctuated by calling India the Kremlin's "laundromat." Navarro insisted that India, by collaborating with Russia and China, was acting as a destabilizing force in global affairs. He also accused the social media platform X of "shielding India's misleading narrative" by fact-checking his tweets, while ignoring the United States' own continued imports of Russian uranium and fertilizers.
Navarro's remarks came in the wake of a fierce tariff battle earlier in 2025 between the United States and China, which saw the U.S. impose a staggering 245% tariff on Chinese goods and China respond with 125% duties on American imports. Although a temporary truce was reached, Navarro's aggressive posture has remained unchanged, reflecting a broader shift in U.S. trade and foreign policy under the Trump administration's influence. His attacks on India and BRICS signal a desire to confront and isolate emerging economic powers, especially those seeking alternatives to the dollar-dominated world order.
The Indian government, for its part, swiftly rejected Navarro's accusations. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described Navarro's comments as "inaccurate and misleading," emphasizing the "importance of mutual understanding, shared interests, and democratic values" that underpin India-U.S. relations. India has repeatedly defended its continued imports of Russian crude oil as a matter of energy security and strategic autonomy, even as Western governments have pressured New Delhi to distance itself from Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Fact-checkers on X also pointed out that India's oil imports from Russia were both legal and sovereign decisions, and highlighted the hypocrisy in Navarro's arguments by noting that the U.S. itself continued to import Russian commodities.
Meanwhile, the August 2025 BRICS summit showcased strategic dialogue between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China's Xi Jinping, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, signaling an effort to build an alternative economic and geopolitical bloc outside Western influence. While internal tensions and divergent interests persist within BRICS, the group's leaders have consistently reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and fair global governance—an approach that stands in stark contrast to Navarro's predictions of a fractured alliance.
For many observers, the current moment marks a pivotal test of BRICS' resilience and relevance. The group's expansion, its vocal opposition to protectionism, and its willingness to challenge Western dominance in global affairs have made it both a target of criticism and a source of hope for countries seeking a more balanced international order. Whether BRICS can overcome its internal differences and deliver on its lofty promises remains to be seen, but for now, its leaders are determined to chart their own course in an increasingly divided world.
The coming months will reveal whether the voices of unity and cooperation within BRICS can outlast the rhetoric of division—and whether the bloc's vision of shared prosperity can withstand the headwinds of global competition and mistrust.