India is hosting the expanded BRICS Summit at a pivotal moment for the Global South, bringing together an increasingly diverse grouping that now spans 11 members and 10 partner countries. As leaders gather in New Delhi, attention is focused on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi can keep the summit centered on development and cooperation while managing tensions between China, Russia and the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his attendance, while all eyes remain on whether Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first visit to India since the 2020 Galwan border clashes. As BRICS grows in size and influence, can it remain a cohesive platform — or is it becoming a new arena for competition over leadership of the Global South? In this episode, we examine India's balancing act, the future of BRICS+, and what the summit could mean for China, the Indo-Pacific and the evolving global order.
*Recorded on September 10, 2026 at 3pm Taiwan Standard Time
Host: Wen-Ti Sung
Producer: Suvam Pal
Videographer: Damon Lin
Our guests:
Shin Chueiling
- National Sun Yat-Sen University Political Economy Professor
Flavia Bellieni Zimmermann
- Deakin University Centre for Future Defence and National Security Visiting Scholar
Sana Hashmi
- Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation Fellow
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