Viet Nam has meaningful room to deepen its engagement with BRICS, according to Bui Trung Thuong, the country's trade counsellor in India. He notes that India chairs the group in 2026, while its partnership with Viet Nam was recently upgraded. BRICS now represents roughly forty per cent of global output measured at purchasing power, and about a quarter of world trade. Trade among its members reached about 1.17 trillion USD in 2024.
The counsellor proposes a hub-and-spoke model, in which India acts as the connecting hub and other members serve as specialised markets. He identifies four priority areas: expanding market access, promoting two-way investment, joining supply chains more deeply, and cooperating in innovation and digital transformation. China remains Viet Nam's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade of about 153 billion USD in the first half of this year. He argues that commitments should become concrete projects, such as joint laboratories and training programmes.