Chinese President Xi Jinping said Sunday a rising tide of protectionism and anti-globalisation was endangering the world economy's still fragile recovery as BRICS leaders vowed to forge closer business and trade ties.

At a summit in the Indian tourist hub of Goa, host Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa issued a joint declaration on a range of measures, including the setting-up of a new credit ratings agency and fighting tax evasion.

They also agreed to work together to combat "cross-border" terrorism, but Modi's guests held off from signing up to his fierce condemnation of India's arch-rival Pakistan as the "mothership of terrorism".

BRICS was formed in 2011 with the aim of using members' growing economic and political influence to challenge Western hegemony.