Why Xi Jinping’s India Visit Matters Beyond the BRICS Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in India on Saturday for a two-day visit for the 18th BRICS Summit in Delhi, Beijing has confirmed. Political analysts see the trip as a strategic move that raises the weight of the summit well beyond a routine multilateral meeting.

The visit also draws attention because Xi skipped last year's BRICS Summit in Brazil. Even so, most experts do not expect any breakthrough in Sino-Indian ties because of the serious "trust deficit" between the two countries, as per The Week.

That makes the trip significant for two reasons. It puts focus on China's wider diplomatic goals.

Xi's Summit Calculus

Chinese experts see Xi's recent overseas travel as part of a broader plan. They believe the trip to India is meant to strengthen his hand before a summit with Donald Trump at the end of the month, as The Week reported.

The back-to-back visits are seen as an effort to gather bargaining chips before that meeting. Those expected areas include energy, infrastructure and diplomacy.

That reading places the Delhi visit in a larger frame. It is not just about BRICS or India-China ties, but also about how Xi wants to approach Trump later this month from a stronger position.

BRICS And Global South

China also sees the BRICS Summit as a platform for a wider agenda. That includes pushing common development and reform of international governance structures in the Global South.

The issues specifically mentioned include changes to the governance structures of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. These questions link directly to the wider debate on global multipolarity.

If India and China speak in unison on those questions, analysts believe it could be read as a joint effort to contain the United States. That gives the Delhi summit added geopolitical meaning, even if bilateral ties remain strained.

Payments And Currency

Currency may be another key theme. BRICS could discuss a direct settlement mechanism between member countries that does not use the US dollar.

India has been promoting central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments. China, meanwhile, is pushing wider use of the digital yuan, which could benefit from any move towards non-dollar settlement.

But the two sides are not identical in approach. India remains cautious about any China-centric financial order and prefers linking payment systems rather than backing a common currency alternative.

China's Multilateral Pitch

Chinese scholars have tied Xi's travel to Beijing's wider message in the developing world. Lo Siu-hing, honorary professor of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong, told Chinese state-backed media that Xi's frequent overseas visits show China plays a very important role in developing countries.

“China adheres to multilateralism, emphasises anti-hegemony, and the visits will definitely strengthen its bargaining power with the United States when it sees Iran as a new member of BRICS," he added as per The Week.

The remark links Xi's diplomacy to China's push to project itself as a multilateral power. It also ties BRICS expansion to Beijing's argument that it has greater room to negotiate with Washington.

Some analysts argue that China and India now face many of the same challenges. In that view, it was imperative for the Chinese President to set aside some historical differences and look ahead in order to solve problems.