Xi Jinping Leaves for India to Attend BRICS Summit, Meet PM Modi

Chinese President Xi Jinping flew out from Beijing on Saturday morning for a two-day visit to New Delhi in order to participate in the 18th BRICS Summit and discuss matters with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.

As per reports by China’s state media outlet Xinhua, Xi Jinping will be traveling to India at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi. His delegation will consist of high-ranking officials from China, which include Cai Qi, who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

This visit will come as the first visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India in almost seven years. His last visit was back in 2019 where he held an informal meeting with PM Modi in Mamallapuram city of Tamil Nadu. 

Prior to Xi’s visit, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had meetings in Beijing on the issue of border and other bilateral issues. In the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks in August, both parties arrived at an eight-point consensus that would help move forward with the discussion on border delineation and border management.

According to the spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry Mao Ning, Beijing wishes to strengthen communications, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences and improve bilateral relations from a strategic perspective.

The BRICS summit is taking place against the backdrop of several global issues such as conflict between Iran and the US and the war between Russia and Ukraine. China has been advocating dialogue and negotiations to solve global issues.

BRICS, now chaired by India, will be holding its 18th Summit in New Delhi between September 12 and 13. There have been tremendous developments since the creation of BRICS, including the entry of Indonesia into BRICS in 2025 as a full member country and others as partner countries.

The upcoming summit will mark the 20th year since the inception of BRICS, making India’s fourth chairmanship more significant.