BRICS has adhered to the principles of dialogue over confrontation and partnership over alliance since its inception, Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies told CGTN, dismissing U.S. President Trump's accusation that BRICS is pursuing an "anti-American policy" as completely unfounded.

Wang stressed that the BRICS mechanism has consistently followed the policy of not targeting any third party nor engaging in confrontation with anyone and remained open and transparent, pursuing mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Wang's remarks came as BRICS leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the 17th BRICS Summit, during which Trump claimed that BRICS supports "anti-American" policies and threatened to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on countries aligning with the group's direction.

The expert noted Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's comments at the end of the BRICS summit: "The world has changed. We don't want an emperor."

Wang said Trump's actions reflect a lack of knowledge or understanding about BRICS. "The misperception stems from Trump and some Western nations' fundamental misunderstanding of BRICS, mistakenly viewing it as an anti-America alliance. However, such pressure may instead strengthen the group's internal cohesion," said the expert.

With evolving global dynamics, BRICS nations now play increasingly vital roles in world politics and economy, having surpassed the G7 in economic scale. The Global South is moving from the periphery to the center of international affairs, refusing to remain the silent majority, Wang said.

The collective rise of Global South countries and de-dollarization efforts aim not to challenge specific countries but to reform the outdated, unjust international order, Wang added, noting that this institutional rebalancing injects greater inclusivity, fairness and legitimacy into global governance systems.