Xi Returns to India for BRICS Summit as Beijing-New Delhi Ties Warm

By Staff, Agencies

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend the 18^th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, marking his first visit to India since 2019 and signaling a renewed phase of high-level engagement between the two Asian powers.

Xi was accompanied by Cai Qi, director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

His visit comes after years of strained relations between Beijing and New Delhi following a military confrontation along their disputed Himalayan border in Ladakh. The standoff lasted more than four years and pushed bilateral relations to their lowest point in decades.

Relations have gradually improved in recent years, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting China last year and both governments taking steps toward restoring diplomatic and high-level contacts.

Invited by Modi, Xi is attending the two-day BRICS summit on Saturday and Sunday and is expected to meet the Indian prime minister for bilateral talks later Saturday.

The summit brings together leaders from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America to discuss global trade, economic cooperation and major regional and international issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the other leaders who have arrived in India for the gathering.

The expanded BRICS grouping now includes Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

The organization also includes partner countries such as Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The previous BRICS summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2025, while China is scheduled to host the next summit in 2027.