Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend a two day BRICS summit in New Delhi this weekend, marking his first trip to India in seven years, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday. The visit comes as relations between Asia’s two giants show signs of a gradual thaw after years of tension sparked by a deadly 2020 border clash in the Himalayas, as reported by The Express Tribune.
Xi last travelled to India in 2019, just months before a military face off between Chinese and Indian troops in Ladakh escalated into a four-year standoff that pushed bilateral ties to their lowest point in six decades. Since then, both sides have taken cautious steps to rebuild trust, including high-level visits and renewed dialogue. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China last year, signalling a willingness to move past the chill and restore a measure of stability to one of the world’s most consequential relationships.
Xi will attend the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit at Modi’s invitation on Saturday and Sunday, the ministry said. The gathering will bring together heads of state from across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, underscoring the bloc’s ambition to act as a counterweight to Western dominated institutions. Among those expected to attend are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
The expanded BRICS membership now comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The group also works with a circle of partner countries, including Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The last BRICS summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2025, and China is scheduled to host the 2027 meeting.
For Modi and Xi, the summit offers a rare chance to meet face to face and test whether the fragile rapprochement can withstand the weight of unresolved border disputes and deep strategic rivalry.
