Chinese President Xi Jinping travelled to New Delhi, the capital of India, for the 18th Leaders’ Summit bringing together BRICS countries. The visit marked Xi Jinping’s first trip to India in seven years.
Cai Qi, director of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi also accompanied the Chinese leader.
A new period of engagement in China-India relations
Xi Jinping’s previous visit to India took place in 2019. In the following period, military tensions between the two countries’ border forces continued for more than four years in the Ladakh region, while bilateral relations fell to their lowest level in six decades.
Relations between China and India have gradually improved in recent years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China last year and steps taken by the two countries to revive high-level engagement contributed to this development.
Xi Jinping, who is attending the summit at Modi’s invitation, is scheduled to meet the Indian prime minister on Saturday evening.
Trade and economic cooperation on the BRICS agenda
Global trade, economic cooperation and regional and international developments are expected to be discussed at the two-day summit. Leaders from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America are attending the meeting, which also includes Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The members of the expanded BRICS are Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are among the group’s partner countries.
The latest BRICS summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2025. China is scheduled to host the summit in 2027.
