Special Correspondent, Dhaka:
China’s President Xi Jinping is likely to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12–13 with a large delegation, marking his first visit to India in seven years and offering a possible opportunity for the two Asian powers to stabilize ties.
According to three Indian sources cited by Reuters, Chinese officials are working on hotel arrangements and security protocols for Xi’s potential visit. Two sources said the Chinese delegation could include around 400 officials, significantly larger than the delegation accompanying Xi during his previous India visit in 2019.
Xi’s attendance, however, would carry significance beyond the formal BRICS agenda. India and China have been gradually rebuilding engagement after a deadly border confrontation in 2020 severely strained relations. The clashes, which left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead, triggered a prolonged military standoff along their disputed Himalayan frontier.
A disengagement agreement reached in October 2024 helped reduce tensions, but the border remains a sensitive issue. Reports of an encounter between Indian and Chinese patrols near a remote border area in late July also prompted renewed diplomatic exchanges. India has stressed that peace and stability along the border are essential for broader bilateral relations.
Against this backdrop, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited Beijing last week and talked with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where the boundary issue was a key focus.
The potential Xi visit could provide space for both sides to discuss wider economic and diplomatic engagement while keeping difficult security questions under management. A bilateral meeting between Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if confirmed, would be particularly important in assessing whether the recent improvement in ties can move towards a more sustained relationship.
The broader geopolitical environment is also influencing the India-China equation. Both countries remain strategic competitors, but growing pressure from US trade policies has created limited areas of shared interest, particularly within BRICS.
For India, hosting the summit provides an opportunity to strengthen its role in shaping the grouping’s agenda. For China, Xi’s possible presence could underline Beijing’s interest in maintaining BRICS cooperation and preventing external tensions from weakening the bloc.
While major differences remain, the summit could therefore serve as a practical platform for dialogue, signaling that competition between India and China does not necessarily rule out selective cooperation.
