Xi visits India for BRICS summit amid seven-year gap and thaw in ties
Chinese President Xi Jinping left for New Delhi on Saturday morning to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, which India is hosting on September 12 and 13 as the current chair of the grouping. Xi is visiting at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is scheduled to hold talks with Modi on the sidelines of the summit, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
This will be Xi's first visit to India in nearly seven years and comes amid efforts by India and China to normalise ties after a prolonged freeze following the 2020 Eastern Ladakh standoff. A Modi-Xi meeting during the summit is expected to be closely watched for indications on the future course of India-China relations.
Xinhua said Xi's entourage includes his close associate Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Asked how China viewed the Modi-Xi meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said this would be the third year in a row that the two leaders meet, after their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin. She said, "China will work with India to act on the strategic guidance of the two leaders, handle bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, step up communication, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences, and be friends enjoying good-neighbourliness and partners helping each other succeed."
On the summit, Mao said BRICS is a key platform for solidarity and cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries. She said Xi will attend and address the summit and hold in-depth exchanges with other leaders on major issues, including the current international situation, the development of BRICS mechanisms and deepening practical cooperation. She also said he will put forward China's initiatives and propositions for what she described as the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation, and that China is ready to work with other BRICS countries for steady and sustained progress in cooperation to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
Referring to the significance of the New Delhi summit amid the Iran-US conflict and the Ukraine-Russia war, Mao said China advocates a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable approach to security. She said, "We are committed to promoting the political settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue. We look forward to working with fellow BRICS countries to promote dialogue and negotiation to resolve differences and jointly safeguard regional and global peace and stability."
Xi last visited India in 2019 for an informal summit with Modi in Mamallapuram near Chennai. He had earlier visited Goa in 2016 for the BRICS Summit and made his first visit to India in September 2014, when he held extensive talks with Modi during the first terms of both leaders. Ahead of the latest visit, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Wang Yi held extensive talks in Beijing last month on the boundary issue, maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border and steps to improve bilateral relations. During the 25th round of Special Representatives' talks in Beijing on August 25, the two sides reached an eight-point consensus and agreed to advance discussions on an early and substantial harvest of boundary delimitation and border management.
BRICS, originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year. India is a founding member of BRICS and has previously held the chairship in 2012, 2016 and 2021. India assumed its fourth chairmanship on January 1 this year, and after the New Delhi summit, China will take over the rotating chair. The year 2026 will also mark 20 years since BRICS was established.
Xi's visit to New Delhi for the BRICS Summit, his planned talks with Modi and the broader discussions within the grouping come at a time of efforts to improve India-China ties and amid a volatile international situation, making both the bilateral meeting and the summit significant on multiple fronts.
