Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on BRICS member states to do more to promote peace in the Middle East and the Gulf region.
Speaking at the BRICS summit in New Delhi on Saturday, he said that China was prepared to play its part, alongside the other members of the grouping, in establishing peace and stability.
The situation in the region is complex, and the war is inflicting heavy losses on the peoples of the region, the Chinese leader said.
Xi also pointed out that power politics are on the rise, the international order is being challenged and there are growing shortcomings in terms of peace and security. The BRICS nations must stand "on the right side of history," he urged.
The acronym BRICS stands for the first letters of the group's first five members: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia are also members. The group also sees itself as a counterweight to the West. China will take over the BRICS chairmanship next year.
Xi travelled to India for the first time since 2019, and held a bilateral meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Relations between the world's two most populous countries deteriorated significantly following a fatal incident in 2020 involving soldiers from both sides on the shared border in a disputed area of the Himalayas. Relations have improved somewhat since an agreement in 2024.
The trip to New Delhi is part of a series of recent diplomatic efforts by Xi, with visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt.