The five leaders attending the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg signed a declaration stressing the importance of an "open world economy", in which all countries benefit from globalisation.

The BRICS are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.  The summit and its final communique come amid mounting trade tensions sparked by Donald Trump's tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.  That sparked tit-for-tat tariffs in China, the European Union, and the the US again on billionas of dollars worth of items.

"We reaffirm the centrality of the rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading system, as embodied in the World Trade Organization, that promotes a predictable trade environment and the centrality of the WTO," read the declaration signed by the five leaders. 

However, they added: "We recognise that the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges.  We underscore the importance of an open world economy, enabling all countries and peoples to share the benefits of globalisation, which should be inclusive and support sustainable development and prosperity of all countries.  We call on all WTO members to abide by WTO rules and honour their commitments in the multilateral trading system."

Earlier in the week, Chinese President Xi Jinping said there would be no winners in a global trade war.