International

Xi Jinping to Visit India for BRICS Summit, Ending Diplomatic Uncertainty

10 September 2026 21:09 PM

NEWS DESK

Ending days of diplomatic uncertainty, Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit India later this week to attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

China and India officially confirmed Xi’s visit on Thursday.

In a statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said, “At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.”

Earlier on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun had declined to provide details about Xi’s planned visit. Asked by reporters whether the Chinese president would travel to India for the BRICS summit, Guo said, “I have no information to provide on this matter.”

Xi’s visit will be his first to India since the deadly border clash in the Galwan Valley in 2020, which severely strained relations between the two countries. Twenty Indian soldiers and several Chinese troops were killed in the confrontation.

The Chinese president last visited India in 2019, when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai.

Xi first visited India in September 2014, during the first terms of both leaders as heads of government. He returned in 2016 to attend the BRICS Summit in Goa.

Relations between Beijing and New Delhi have shown visible signs of improvement in recent years. The shift became particularly noticeable after Modi’s visit to China last year and amid growing diplomatic tensions between both countries and the United States.

India has also recently eased some of the restrictions it imposed on Chinese investment following the 2020 border clash. Commercial ties between the two Asian powers are gradually being restored, particularly in the electronics and solar power sectors.

China’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters that Xi and Modi held a brief meeting earlier this month on the sidelines of a regional forum in Kyrgyzstan. During the meeting, the two leaders agreed that China and India should view each other as “partners rather than competitors” and as opportunities for each other’s development rather than threats.

However, Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Beijing is now maintaining strict scrutiny over proposed investments by Chinese companies in India. The scrutiny is particularly focused on projects involving sensitive technologies and advanced manufacturing, with Chinese authorities reviewing such investments before granting approval.

Despite the restrictions, bilateral trade between China and India increased by 12.4% last year to a record $155 billion, according to Chinese customs data. The figure is more than double the $71.6 billion recorded a decade earlier.

Trade between the two countries has continued to grow this year. During the first seven months of the year, bilateral trade increased by another 23% compared with the same period a year earlier.

India visit Xi Jinping