Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that instead of closing itself off in the face of disrupted supply chains, Brazil would be seeking to “deepen our economic integration.” On Wednesday at the business forum, Putin said Russia was actively “redirecting its trade flows” and increasing oil deliveries to India and China.
Unlike the others, Xi did refer directly to Ukraine, saying: “The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis has resulted in disruptions to global industrial and supply chains … and emerging markets and developing countries bear the brunt.”įor his part, Russia leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday thanked Xi and “all our Chinese friends” and took aim at the “selfish actions of certain states” that he said had thrown the global economy into a crisis, referring to sanctions against his government.Ĭountries in the global South have been hard hit by food insecurity and rising oil prices caused by the Ukraine crisis, and Putin noted that Russia could “count on the support of many Asian, African and Latin American states striving to pursue an independent policy.” It has been proved time and again that sanctions are a boomerang and a double-edged sword,” he added. “Major developed countries should adopt responsible economic policies and avoid negative policy spillovers that may take a heavy toll on developing countries. “We in the international community should reject zero-sum games and jointly oppose hegemony and power politics,” he said. Xi’s remarks Wednesday at the BRICS business forum ahead of the main summit were even less equivocal.Ĭhinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech via video at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, in Beijing, China, June 22, 2022. China, India and South Africa all abstained from condemning the invasion. Of the BRICS member states - emerging economies that position themselves as an alternative to the U.S.-led liberal world order - only Brazil voted against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations earlier this year. and European Union sanctions against Moscow. “We must abandon cold war mentality and bloc confrontation and oppose unilateral sanctions and the abuse of sanctions,” the president of the world’s second-largest economy said in apparent reference to U.S. In his address, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the group’s purpose was to “make the world a more stable place” and “speak out for equity and justice.” He then appeared to take aim at the West, though the U.S.
Ukraine: It was a word barely mentioned but often alluded to as the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - collectively known as BRICS - gave their opening remarks at a virtual summit Thursday hosted by Beijing.