Full Breakdown
Xi Jinping Visits New Delhi for BRICS Summit, Meets Narendra Modi
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: High-Level Bilateral Meeting at the BRICS Summit
On 12 September 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi for the 18th BRICS summit and held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The encounter, the first Xi visit to India in seven years, was scheduled for the evening of the summit’s opening day and marked the third Xi-Modi meeting in as many years. Both leaders discussed border stability, trade imbalances, people-to-people links and regional cooperation.
Background & Context
Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours deteriorated after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, which left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead. Incremental steps followed: a patrolling agreement in Depsang and Demchok in October 2024 eased friction; a delegation-level meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan restored limited high-level dialogue; and a subsequent encounter in Tianjin during the SCO summit in August 2025 expanded discussions to trade, investment and connectivity. Both sides still retain substantial military deployments along the roughly 3,800-km Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Timeline
- 2020 – Galwan Valley clash, 20 Indian and 4 Chinese soldiers killed.
- October 2024 – Patrolling agreement in Depsang and Demchok; first delegation-level meeting in Kazan.
- August 2025 – Modi visits China for SCO summit in Tianjin; meets Xi.
- October 2025 – Direct flights between India and China resume after a five-year suspension.
- August 2026 – National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-chair the 25th Meeting of the Special Representatives on the India-China Boundary Question in Beijing.
- 12 September 2026 – Xi arrives in New Delhi; bilateral talks held on BRICS sidelines.
Official Statements & Responses
- A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said China is “willing” to work with India from a strategic, long-term perspective, manage differences, and act as “good neighbours and friends.”
- The Indian foreign ministry stated the two leaders underscored the need to promote cultural exchanges, business linkages and greater mobility, and to address structural trade imbalances.
- Modi emphasized that peace along the LAC is essential for continued development of bilateral relations.
- Xi, as reported by Xinhua, reiterated that China views the relationship through a strategic, long-term lens and that institutional exchanges are gradually being restored.
- The New Delhi Declaration 2026, adopted by the BRICS bloc, expressed concern over escalating tensions in West Asia and called for restraint to safeguard global trade and energy security.
- Doval and Wang Yi later affirmed their commitment to maintaining border peace and expanding cooperation.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Public sources provide consistent trade figures but lack detailed outcomes of the Xiaomi probe and the exact scale of Chinese firms’ investment pull-backs. No independent verification of the $511.5 million investment proposals has been released, leaving the practical impact of the revised investment rules unclear.
What’s Next
The BRICS summit continues in New Delhi, providing further opportunities for multilateral dialogue. No specific future bilateral meetings have been announced beyond the ongoing high-level engagement mechanisms established in 2024-2026.