Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit New Delhi on September 12 and 13 for the BRICS Summit, making this his first trip to India in seven years. The visit comes as India-China ties enter a more cautious phase after years of tensions following the 2020 border crisis.
Narender Modi and Xi are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit. The talks could focus on the border situation, trade, investment, technology, business ties and the wider relationship between the two countries.
India is hosting the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit this year. The official programme includes discussions on multilateralism, inclusive global growth, resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability, as well as food and energy security, health, disaster resilience and critical supply chains.
PM Modi and Xi bilateral meeting, however, is expected be the most closely watched part of the visit.
What’s on agenda for Modi-Xi’s meeting?
Border and security are likely to remain central to the discussions. India and China have taken steps to reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control since the 2020 border crisis, but the relationship continues to carry a significant trust deficit.
Harsh Pant, vice president at New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, told Reuters that the “trust deficit” between the two countries remained high. China also wants to see how far India is prepared to take the recent improvement in relations.
Lin Minwang, a South Asia expert at Shanghai’s Fudan University and a former diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, told Reuters that China wanted better relations but was waiting to see how far India was willing to go. “China certainly wants to improve ties, but we are waiting to see to what extent India is actually willing to improve them,” Lin said.
Trade and investment are another major part of the agenda. India has eased some restrictions on Chinese investment, particularly in areas such as electronics, capital goods and solar cells. New Delhi has also considered faster approvals for some joint ventures involving Indian and Chinese companies.
India has already approved a manufacturing partnership between Dixon Technologies and Chinese smartphone maker Vivo.
But Chinese investment has not returned to pre-2020 levels, and security concerns continue to influence investment decisions.
The meeting could therefore provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss whether more economic engagement is possible while protecting India’s strategic and national security interests.
Technology and supply chains are also likely to matter. Chinese companies remain important suppliers of components, machinery and technology for several Indian industries, including electronics and solar energy. At the same time, India wants to reduce excessive dependence on China in sensitive sectors.
Some Chinese-made equipment and components required for Indian solar, electronics and infrastructure projects have faced delays at Chinese customs. According to Reuters, Chinese authorities had asked companies to restrict the sale of some critical technology and infrastructure equipment to India.
These issues could make technology access and supply-chain reliability an important part of the economic conversation between PM Modi and Xi.
Business and people-to-people ties could form another part of the discussions.
India and China have resumed direct flights, while India has also eased visa procedures for Chinese business professionals. However, some Indian business people with interests in China have recently faced difficulties obtaining visas, reported Reuters.
Why does BRICS summit matter?
Xi’s visit comes as India hosts the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, giving the two countries a broader platform for discussions beyond their bilateral relationship.
India’s BRICS agenda includes multilateralism, global growth, resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability. Food and energy security, health, disaster resilience and critical supply chains are also part of the programme.
West Asia could be another issue requiring careful discussion. The Indian Express Digital reported that BRICS negotiators were working on a joint declaration amid the continuing conflict in West Asia. The grouping includes countries with different positions on the conflict, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
India and China may not agree on every geopolitical issue, but both have an interest in keeping BRICS focused on cooperation among emerging economies and reforms to global institutions.
The BRICS platform could therefore provide PM Modi and Xi with an opportunity to discuss wider geopolitical issues while their bilateral meeting focuses on India-China relations.
India-China relations: What changed after 2020?
The two countries fought a brief war in 1962, after which their relationship remained cautious for decades. The biggest recent setback came in 2020, when troops from the two countries clashed in eastern Ladakh. Twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed in the confrontation.
Relations remained strained for several years as the two sides worked to manage the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control.
A gradual diplomatic thaw began later. PM Modi and Xi met in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024 after the two countries reached an understanding aimed at easing the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control. The leaders also met briefly at a regional forum in Kyrgyzstan this month, although they did not hold a formal bilateral meeting, Reuters reported.
Xi’s September visit will therefore be a more significant opportunity for the two leaders to assess whether that thaw can develop into a broader improvement in relations.
Written by Dimple Singh
Source: Financial Express
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