While Brazil held the official Brics presidency in 2025, the real center of geopolitical gravity may have shifted elsewhere. Earlier this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, a meeting that, according to Brazilian historian Miguel Stédile, had far greater global impact than the formal Brics gathering hosted by Brazil in July.
Speaking on the O Estrangeiro podcast by BdF, Stédile argued the encounter was symbolically and politically stronger than the Brics meeting in Rio, which both Xi and Putin skipped. “It was a very timid and empty summit. The moment demanded something much more forceful,” he said. “What we actually had this week was the real Brics summit.”
India signals alignment with Russia and China
Traditionally seen as the bloc’s weakest link due to its closer ties to the West, India’s presence in Shanghai alongside Beijing and Moscow marked a significant moment. “India showing up and playing together with China and Russia is hugely important right now,” Stédile emphasized. He pointed to India’s shift as a signal of greater cohesion within emerging powers, despite internal contradictions.
The gathering also featured a military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, attended by nearly 30 heads of state. Stédile described the event as a demonstration of China’s growing assertiveness in global politics. “It was a strong image — a symbol of China stepping into the game as a central actor in world disputes.”
Beyond multilateralism: China and the Global South
According to Stédile, China continues to push for broader representation of the Global South in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. However, he notes that the increasing relevance of the SCO could signal a shift toward new governance structures outside the traditional Western-dominated order.
This realignment, he warned, could further marginalize Brazil if it fails to adjust its foreign policy. “Either the Brazilian Foreign Ministry starts looking East, or we’ll be left behind as a Third World supplier of raw materials,” Stédile said. “The first world would be Nato; the second, Shanghai and the East; and we’d be the third, serving both.”
Russia and China seal gas pipeline, visa-free travel
Serguei Monin, BdF’s Moscow correspondent, highlighted the most concrete outcome of the summit: an agreement to construct the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which will expand Russian gas exports to China via Mongolia. The two countries also signed a mutual visa exemption deal for stays of up to 30 days.
Monin said these developments reflect a broader trend in Moscow. “Russia sees this as part of a reorientation toward the East, a shift away from the West after the war in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions,” he said. “It’s the consolidation of a post-Western vision for the international order.”
