Xi Jinping skips BRICS Summit for the first time amid speculation of political turbulence in China and divisions between member nations over trade and strategic interests

The coming years will test China's political system as never before. The CCP must balance the need for strong, centralized leadership with the imperative for institutional resilience and adaptability.

A summit of leaders from the BRICS group of major emerging economies kicks off in Brazil Sunday – but without the top leader of its most powerful member.

The 17th Brics summit has begun in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro and leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa are in attendance. However, for the first time since taking power in 2012,

The 17th BRICS Summit kicked off on Sunday in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, bringing together leaders from major emerging economies--but without the attendance of one of the top leaders of one of its most powerful members.

In his visit to this new landmark in China's financial center late April, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the bank's president and former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff this multilateral institution has been a result of "a pioneering initiative for the Global South to seek strength through unity."

In China, the world is witnessing the possible return of a far more technocratic elite that favors scaling back direct confrontation with the West.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has a cordial conversation with workers at the Yangquan Valve Co., Ltd. in Yangquan City, north China's Shanxi Province, July 7, 2025. Xi inspected the company here on Monday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)