International journalists highlight China's pivotal role in BRICS cooperation

China

International journalists highlight China's pivotal role in BRICS cooperation

2026-09-13 14:34 Last Updated At：15:17

As the 18th BRICS Summit is underway in New Delhi this weekend, international journalists covering the event have stressed China's indispensable role in strengthening the grouping and amplifying the voice of the Global South.

The summit, held in India's capital from Saturday to Sunday under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," has gathered leaders from 11 full member states, 10 partner countries, and invited guests.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the BRICS cooperation mechanism, which has grown into the most influential platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries.

"[When] President Xi, he said that we have to be together whether it's rain or a wind, I mean that has a sense of respect even though we are a small country compared to China. We would love to see China play a bigger role," said Firdaus Azil, a journalist from Malaysia.

International journalists covering the summit in India noted that China's consistent commitment to inclusiveness and equitable cooperation within BRICS has left a deep impression on observers from developing nations.

"I see it [BRICS] as a formidable force that is driving development. For me, I believe that China plays a huge role in BRICS," said Sarafina Christopher, a journalist with the News Agency of Nigeria.

The recurring descriptors - "huge," "bigger," and "important" - used by international journalists to characterize China's role in BRICS reflect what China has been tangibly delivered through two decades of sustained engagement with the grouping.

China has consistently championed a more equitable global governance system that gives the Global South a stronger voice.

From the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win progress in 2014, to BRICS+ in 2017, to the greater BRICS cooperation in 2024, and in 2025 when the Chinese president made three proposals to foster synergy for common development, each step has refined the approach to make it work.

With China set to assume the BRICS rotating presidency in 2027, all eyes will be on how the country builds on this momentum to further strengthen the grouping and advance the shared aspirations of the Global South.

Yemen's Houthis say Bab al-Mandab Strait shipping near normal despite fighting

Yemen's Houthi group said on Saturday that international shipping through the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait remained near normal even as intense ground fighting raged along its shores.

In a statement released through Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, the group said 73 international vessels, including container ships and other commercial vessels, crossed the strait over the previous 48 hours.

It said 36 vessels transited the waterway on Thursday and 37 on Friday, equivalent to 98.6 percent of the average daily traffic recorded before the Houthis imposed a ban on Saudi vessels on July 20.

The group noted that international navigation remained "free, safe and smooth," while stressing that Saudi vessels remained excluded.

Houthi forces on Friday consolidated control over Yemen's western coast and key areas around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, following their capture of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha a day earlier.

Bab al-Mandab connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serves as a critical gateway for trade and energy shipments between Asia and Europe.

Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.