Xi Jinping to Visit India for BRICS Summit to Stabilize Bilateral Ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit New Delhi over the weekend for the 18th BRICS summit, marking his first trip to India since 2019. The high-profile diplomatic engagement aims to stabilize bilateral ties following years of tensions stemming from the 2020 Himalayan border clash.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two-day meeting takes place on September 12 and 13 at Bharat Mandapam, ending a diplomatic suspense over the Chinese leader’s participation.

The trip concludes a seven-year gap since Xi’s last visit in October 2019, when he travelled to Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, for an informal summit. That meeting preceded a profound deterioration in relations triggered by a deadly military face-off in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh in June 2020.

Diplomatic Thaw Following the Galwan Valley Clash

The 2020 confrontation killed 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops, taking bilateral ties to a six-decade low. Since then, the two nuclear-armed neighbors have gradually worked to restore contact through military and diplomatic channels.

Momentum toward normalization accelerated after the two sides agreed in 2024 to withdraw troops from the disputed border area. Prime Minister Modi subsequently visited China last year to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, where he held discussions with Xi.

Security officials from both nations have continued dialogue in Beijing, with a special representatives’ meeting held recently between Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China and concurrently foreign minister, and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Despite these diplomatic overtures, analysts emphasize that a deep mistrust persists, complicated by an unresolved frontier and competing regional claims.

Trade Growth Amid Border Friction

Economic ties have expanded despite political friction. Bilateral trade increased 12.4 per cent last year to reach a record USD 155 billion, according to Chinese customs data. That figure more than doubled the USD 71.6 billion recorded a decade earlier.

Xi Jinping to Visit India for BRICS Summit to Stabilize Bilateral Ties — Photo: tribune.com.pk

Trade flows continued upward, rising another 23 per cent during the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year. New Delhi has eased certain investment restrictions affecting electronics, capital goods, and solar-cell manufacturing, alongside faster approvals for joint ventures.

However, significant barriers remain. Businesses continue to navigate regulatory hurdles, visa delays, and restrictions on industrial equipment, while Chinese investment proposals face ongoing scrutiny from Beijing in advanced technology sectors.

Multilateral Agenda at the New Delhi BRICS Summit

As the current chair of the grouping, India is hosting an expanded bloc that now incorporates Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, alongside numerous partner countries. The summit will focus on economic and financial cooperation among member states and on elevating the voice of emerging economies.

(File Photo | AP) — Photo: newindianexpress.com

Attention will also focus on whether Modi and Xi hold a formal bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the multilateral sessions. Neither government has confirmed a separate one-on-one session, though the two leaders previously met briefly at a regional forum in Kyrgyzstan, where China’s foreign ministry reported they considered each other partners rather than competitors.