BRICS leaders set to discuss key global political issues in Rio de Janeiro, but questions over the bloc’s cohesion arise as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin opt to skip the summit.

Leaders of the BRICS group of major emerging economies are meeting in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for a two-day summit. The BRICS acronym is derived from the initial letters of the founding member countries: Brazil,

The BRICS leaders voiced "serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures," warning they are illegal and arbitrary, according to a final summit statement. In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, but abruptly offered a reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off.