Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to visit India with a large delegation for the first time in seven years, which may indicate a warming in relations between the two rivals. According to three sources, Xi Jinping is likely to participate in the BRICS summit in New Delhi next month. India will host the summit on September 12-13.
The presence of Xi at the summit will attract attention not so much because of the BRICS agenda, but as a signal regarding the efforts of Beijing and New Delhi to stabilize relations after the deadly border clashes in 2020. “Chinese officials are busy finalizing hotels and security protocols,” Reuters reported one of the Indian sources familiar with the situation as saying.
Two other Indian sources reported that Xi Jinping is likely to be accompanied by a delegation of about 400 officials, while during his last visit in 2019 the delegation numbered less than 200 people. According to the sources, representatives of both countries are expected to use the summit to find ways to expand interaction, while trying to resolve long-standing differences on the border and regional security issues. The final plans for Xi’s trip and the agenda of a possible bilateral meeting between India and China have not yet been agreed, the sources added.
Border Tensions
Relations between India and China have remained tense for many years, mainly due to border tensions and territorial disputes. The two most populous countries in the world, which are also nuclear powers, share a border of about 3,800 km (2,400 miles) in the Himalayas. A significant part of this border does not have a clearly defined demarcation line and remains disputed.
Decades of relative peace along the border were disrupted by clashes in 2020, in which 20 Indian and four Chinese servicemen were killed. The incident led to a four-year military standoff before the parties reached an agreement on the withdrawal of troops in October 2024.
Meanwhile, on August 12, India stated that maintaining peace on the border is critically important for bilateral relations after reports that Indian and Chinese army patrols met face-to-face near a remote border area at the end of July. National Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval on Monday, August 24, began a visit to Beijing, where he is to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for talks on the border issue.
Diplomatic Statements and Context
Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China for the first time in seven years, but relations between the countries improved only gradually. Recently, a new border dispute caused a sharp exchange of diplomatic statements between the two sides.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that “China attaches great importance to cooperation within the BRICS and actively participates in it, and also supports India, which currently chairs the association, in successfully holding this year’s BRICS summit.” At the same time, the ministry noted: “At present, we do not have information that we could provide” regarding Xi’s visit. The Chinese president missed the last BRICS summit in 2025 in Brazil. The Indian Foreign Ministry did not comment.
Although India and China remain competitors, the trade policy of US President Donald Trump has created one of the areas of potential rapprochement. In this context, the possible presence of Xi at the summit may indicate that neither side wants external pressure to undermine cooperation within the BRICS.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia
