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On 13 September 2026, speaking in the BRICS Plus outreach session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that China lead a 'BRICS AI open-source community'.
The plan covers cooperation on large language models, specialised AI seminars and training, an open AI ecosystem, and a separate BRICS digital-ecosystem cloud platform.
The New Delhi Declaration did not adopt it. It committed BRICS only to cooperation on wider access to AI resources that is safe, secure, reliable and inclusive.
China takes over the BRICS chairship in 2027 and could bring the proposal back then.
India also wants developing countries to get wider access to compute, datasets and models. It pursues that through its IndiaAI Mission and the February 2026 AI Impact Summit, while weighing concerns over data sovereignty and technological dependence.
17th BRICS Summit, Rio de Janeiro: leaders issue a statement on the global governance of AI
India AI Impact Summit ends on 20 February; its New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact is endorsed by 88 countries and international organisations
World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) established in Shanghai with 29 signatory countries
Xi, opening WAIC 2026 in Shanghai, announces 5,000 AI training and seminar opportunities for developing countries over five years
Xi proposes a BRICS AI open-source community at the New Delhi summit
China assumes the BRICS chairship
| Feature | Open-weight models | Closed (proprietary) models |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Model weights released; users can download, adapt and host them | Used through company-controlled APIs |
| Typical champions | A growing number of Chinese labs (e.g. DeepSeek, Qwen) | Largely US firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google |
| Pitch to developing countries | Lower cost, local adaptation, less dependence on a single vendor | Frontier capability, vendor-managed safety controls |
| Concern | Strategic dependence on the model's origin country; misuse | Cost, lock-in and data leaving the country |
Democratise AI in India by building compute capacity, datasets, foundation models and an innovation ecosystem
Key: Approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024 with an outlay of ₹10,371.92 crore; implemented under MeitY
Ensure the benefits of AI are shared equitably
Key: Endorsed by 88 countries and organisations; three sutras (People, Planet, Progress); includes a voluntary Charter for the Democratic Diffusion of AI
Grouping of major emerging economies. India chaired it in 2026, its fourth time after 2012, 2016 and 2021. China chairs next in 2027
China-initiated body for international AI cooperation, established in Shanghai in July 2026 with 29 signatory countries
Implements India's IndiaAI Mission
GS Paper II > International groupings (BRICS); GS Paper III > Science & Technology (AI)
General Awareness > International Organisations
An AI model whose trained parameters are publicly released so others can run and adapt it
World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, set up in Shanghai in July 2026
Using control over technology or critical inputs as a tool of economic or political pressure