Xi pitches BRICS open-source AI community at summit

Xi Jinping's address in New Delhi follows a day earlier move in which he welcomed BRICS nations to join a new group of nearly 30 countries set up by Beijing and called the World AI Cooperation Organization. In that same message, he urged BRICS to "strengthen cooperation in the field of AI, encourage open source, openness, collaboration and sharing." The initiative thus arrives alongside an existing Beijing-led structure, suggesting the new BRICS AI community is meant to sit within a broader diplomatic push rather than stand alone.

Beijing frames its open-source AI ecosystem as a cheaper alternative for its citizens and global customers, contrasting with U.S. developers including OpenAI and Anthropic, which prefer closed models. State Security Minister Chen Yixin reinforced that framing in a journal article made public Saturday, writing that certain countries are using blacklists, closed-source ecosystems and tech curbs to "sever global AI industrial chains and supply chains, exacerbating the imbalanced development of the global AI industry." At the same time, Xi has emphasized a need to balance development and security, and an account often used to signal official policy thinking has said China should restrict access to the most powerful features of artificial intelligence models.

Whether the pitch gains traction appears to hinge on BRICS members such as the United Arab Emirates and India, since it wasn't immediately clear if China's vision is winning favor from them. The joint declaration issued Saturday did not explicitly address Xi's pitch, calling instead for "international cooperation in enhancing accessibility of AI resources while ensuring its safety, security, inclusiveness and reliability." Beijing will likely push for AI governance again when it hosts the BRICS Summit in 2027, with state media suggesting next year's focus will include AI, digital economy and green development.