New Delhi: India’s push for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council has received fresh international backing, with prominent American economist Jeffrey Sachs arguing that Beijing should support New Delhi’s candidature.

Speaking during CNN-News18’s BRICS Dialogues, Sachs linked India’s Security Council aspirations to what he sees as a larger transformation underway in global politics. He said India and China should move beyond their bilateral differences and cooperate in reshaping an international system that gives greater weight to emerging powers.

The economist’s intervention comes amid continuing calls for reform of the UN Security Council, whose permanent membership remains limited to China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. India has for years sought a permanent place at the top table of global decision-making.

Sachs: India-China cooperation can reshape global politics

Sachs argued that the interests of India and China increasingly overlap when it comes to the future structure of the international system.

Rather than allowing disagreements between the two countries to define their relationship, he said New Delhi and Beijing should identify areas where cooperation could produce wider benefits.

He particularly pointed to the need for a transition towards a multipolar international order, in which several major powers have a greater role instead of global affairs being heavily influenced by one dominant country.

The economist also referred to the historical roots of the India-China boundary dispute, saying that a disagreement originating during the colonial era should not continue to obstruct cooperation between two countries with significant global influence.

‘China Should Back India For Permanent UNSC Seat’: Jeffrey Sachs At BRICS Dialogues#China #BRICS https://t.co/5WxETl8GN9

— News18 (@CNNnews18) September 11, 2026

‘China should support India as sixth permanent member’

Sachs made one of his strongest arguments on the issue by urging China to endorse India’s bid for permanent membership of the Security Council.

He described such support as potentially beneficial to Beijing as well, suggesting that a stronger Indian presence in the UN’s most powerful decision-making body could fit into a broader push for a more representative global system.

At the same time, Sachs called for efforts from both sides to reduce tensions and improve India-China relations.

His argument effectively places the two issues together: India’s greater role in global institutions and the need for India and China to find a workable framework for cooperation.

BRICS could become a stronger platform

Sachs also highlighted BRICS as an important vehicle for advancing a multipolar approach to international affairs.

He suggested that India and China could use the grouping to strengthen cooperation among emerging and developing economies and give greater weight to countries outside the traditional Western power structure.

His comments also carried a warning for New Delhi over its strategic engagement with Washington. Sachs cautioned India against becoming overly dependent on US-led geopolitical frameworks, including the Quad.

Instead, he advocated a foreign-policy approach that gives India greater strategic autonomy while allowing it to work simultaneously with multiple major powers.

Sachs questions the era of US dominance

The economist was also critical of what he described as Washington’s continuing attempt to retain a dominant position in world affairs.

Sachs compared the mindset behind such an approach with earlier periods of imperial dominance, arguing that the international system has evolved beyond the idea that one country should act as the global hegemon while others follow its lead.

He maintained that modern technology, economic interdependence and the emergence of several major powers have created the foundations for a more balanced international system.

For Sachs, the central question is no longer whether a single country can dominate the international order, but how major powers can coexist and cooperate without allowing strategic competition to turn into conflict.

India’s permanent UNSC bid remains a major reform issue

India has consistently argued that the composition of the Security Council no longer adequately reflects the realities of the contemporary world.

The Council has 15 members, but only five hold permanent seats with veto power. India has argued that countries representing today’s demographic, economic and geopolitical realities should have a permanent role in the institution.

Along with Germany, Japan and Brazil, India has been part of the G4 campaign for Security Council reform. The group has called for expansion of both permanent and non-permanent membership.

However, securing a permanent seat remains a complex diplomatic challenge because major changes to the Council require broad agreement among UN member states and amendments to the UN Charter.

India-China equation could influence the reform debate

Sachs’ remarks bring the India-China relationship into the wider debate over UN reform.

His proposition is that greater cooperation between the two Asian powers could strengthen the case for a more representative international system while simultaneously giving BRICS greater geopolitical weight.

Whether Beijing will translate such arguments into support for India’s permanent Security Council candidature remains a separate question. China has previously supported the general principle of Security Council reform but has not endorsed India’s permanent membership in the straightforward manner advocated by Sachs.

For New Delhi, however, Sachs’ intervention adds to the growing international conversation over who should have a permanent voice in the UN Security Council — and how the global balance of power should be reflected in the institutions created after World War II.