Chinese president Xi Jinping is back in India for the first time in seven years. But this trip is about more than one summit. The Chinese president joined leaders from 11 BRICS countries in New Delhi, with wars, trade tensions and the future of global technology all on the agenda.

Before the formal summit, Xi met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks covering trade, the border, supply chains and people‑to‑people exchanges. Both sides agreed to keep expanding trade and business ties, while continuing talks on their border dispute. They also discussed restoring more direct links between the two countries, including travel and other exchanges. China‑India trade hit a record $155.6 billion last year. So while the two countries compete in many areas, their economies are becoming increasingly difficult to separate.

Then the focus shifted to the wider BRICS group. The bloc now has 11 members, including China, India, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Brazil and South Africa. And this year’s summit comes as several of its members are directly affected by the war in the Middle East. BRICS leaders called for maximum restraint and a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict.

But the summit wasn’t only about war and security. Technology was another major focus. China proposed deeper cooperation among BRICS countries on artificial intelligence, including a BRICS AI open‑source community and a digital ecosystem platform. The idea is to expand cooperation and access to AI technology across the group.

Finance was another big item. BRICS members agreed to keep working on cross‑border payment systems and to expand the use of local currencies in trade and investment. But despite years of speculation, there was no new BRICS currency announced. Instead, the focus is on making different payment systems work more easily across borders.

And there was one more important piece of news announced at the summit. Next year, the BRICS presidency moves to China.

So this year’s meeting in India was not just another gathering of emerging economies. The group is now bigger, its agenda is broader, and its members are trying to coordinate on everything from AI and payments to trade and global security. And next year, China will be the one setting the agenda.