Xi Jinping Arrives In Delhi For BRICS Summit, Set To Meet PM Modi After Seven Years

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, marking his first visit to India in seven years and the most significant high-level engagement between the two countries since the 2020 Galwan clash.

Xi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday on the sidelines of the two-day summit, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. The meeting is being closely watched as India and China seek to stabilise ties after years of tensions following the deadly military confrontation along their disputed Himalayan border.

Xi’s arrival comes a day after Modi held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New Delhi, underscoring the summit’s wider geopolitical significance.

Modi-Xi Talks To Test India-China Thaw

The Modi-Xi meeting comes amid gradual efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to repair ties. The two sides have restored direct flights, eased visa arrangements and stepped up high-level diplomatic contacts.

However, the border dispute remains unresolved, with India and China continuing to maintain significant military deployments along their roughly 3,500-km disputed frontier.

Ahead of Xi’s arrival, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said Beijing was ready to work with New Delhi to improve bilateral relations.

Xu said China would work with India to follow the “strategic guidance” of Modi and Xi and handle bilateral ties from a “strategic height and long-term perspective”.

He called on the two countries to “step up communication, enhance cooperation” and “properly handle differences”.

The envoy also said India and China should be “friends enjoying good-neighbourliness and partners helping each other succeed”.

Xu confirmed that arrangements were being made for the Modi-Xi bilateral and said it would be the third consecutive year the two leaders have met, following their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin.

Ukraine, West Asia Wars Add To BRICS Challenges

Xi’s visit comes as BRICS faces a turbulent global environment, with the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, trade tensions and energy security expected to figure prominently at the summit.

The conflicts have added to the grouping’s geopolitical complexity, with member states taking different positions on the wars and broader security issues.

India has maintained strategic and economic ties with Russia, Iran, Israel and the United States while seeking to protect its interests amid disruptions to trade, shipping and energy supplies.

Established in 2009, BRICS was created to give major emerging economies a greater voice in global institutions. The grouping has since expanded to 11 members, with India holding the chair in 2026.

For New Delhi, the summit provides an opportunity to balance competing geopolitical interests while using the Modi-Xi engagement to assess whether the recent India-China thaw can develop into a more durable reset in bilateral ties.