Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026: Why His New Delhi Visit Is Important

The expected Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit may become one of the most anticipated diplomatic events of India’s BRICS chairship as both countries continue to try to resume dialogue and cooperation despite disagreements.

According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Xi is expected to attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13. So far, his attendance has not been confirmed officially by China.

Nevertheless, the planned summit will take place against the backdrop of diplomatic efforts to restore peace and stability on the disputed border between the two countries.

The timing is significant from other perspectives as well.

India and China are neighbouring countries, major economies and founding members of BRICS. Despite all their disagreements, the countries still share many common features of their relationship, including massive economic cooperation and participation in multilateral organisations.

Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 Takes Place Amid Gradual Improvement of India-China Relations

The Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit comes as the result of a gradual thaw in India-China relations.

Following the 2020 clashes at the border and killing of soldiers in the Galwan Valley, tensions sharply increased between the countries, and troops started to be stationed along some stretches of the border. Diplomatic and economic cooperation also suffered greatly from this.

However, starting from 2024, there has been a gradual improvement in India-China relations.

The key point came in October 2024, when Prime Minister Modi and Xi met, and both sides managed to achieve an agreement on ending a prolonged military standoff near the disputed border. Then, diplomatic contacts continued to increase.

This process has continued in 2026.

At the end of August, the two countries held another round of border dialogue in New Delhi, which focused on border management and cross-border cooperation. India noted that peace and tranquillity of the border is crucial for further development of bilateral relations.

From Beijing, the same message came: the border situation is generally stable, and both sides agree to maintain diplomatic and military contact.

Thus, the upcoming BRICS Summit 2026 New Delhi will take place in the context of attempts to restore diplomatic and economic ties of the two countries and prevent border disagreements from becoming an obstacle for them.

Xi Jinping’s Visit to India Is Not Completely Unexpected

Xi’s possible visit to India has its direct diplomatic background.

During Modi’s visit to China in August 2025, he formally invited the Chinese president to attend the upcoming BRICS Summit in India in 2026. As per the information provided by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Xi thanked Modi for the invitation.

It means that Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit will not be just an isolated event, but a continuation of a wider process of resumption of high-level contacts.

The BRICS Summit 2026 New Delhi visit by Xi will also carry considerable symbolic meaning.

Last year, Modi visited China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit – it was his first trip to China in seven years. Therefore, the Xi’s visit to India will be another sign of resumption of regular high-level contact after many years of complicated relations.

Officially, whether Modi and Xi will meet separately during the summit in September has not been confirmed yet.

China Has Already Talked About Cooperation With India in BRICS

The other reason why the Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit deserves special attention: Chinese officials have already been talking about cooperation with India within BRICS.

In March, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its readiness to cooperate with India on the protection of the shared interests of the Global South and increasing cooperation through various mechanisms, including BRICS.

Also, Chinese officials noted that China and India are countries that should consider each other as development opportunities and partners, rather than competitors.

Why does it matter? It is because BRICS provides India and China with a forum for cooperation regardless of solving all bilateral disagreements first. They can work together in those areas where they share their interests, while continuing negotiations on the remaining difficult questions.

In case of an enlarged BRICS, cooperation between India and China becomes even more important as both countries are among the largest and influential BRICS members.

Trade is a Strong Motivation for Cooperation

Despite the political problems, economics is an important element of India-China relations of 2026.

Trade between the two countries remains enormous.

According to the data cited by Reuters, India imported around $132 billion worth of Chinese goods during the 2025–26 financial year, and total bilateral trade reached approximately $151.1 billion. India continues to complain about its inability to enter Chinese markets and a large trade deficit.

However, there are signs of resumption of economic contacts between India and China.

Now flights between India and China have been resumed, India has simplified the procedures for issuance of business visas for Chinese citizens, and border trade has been resumed in August after a six-year pause. Also, India has partially lifted the restrictions on investments from China introduced following the deterioration of relations in 2020.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in July that the two countries need to solve issues of market access, trade balance and supply chain predictability while maintaining peace in the border region. As per the Chinese version of the news, Wang supported the idea of increasing economic, trade and media cooperation between the two countries.

Such a combination of competition and economic cooperation is likely to be characteristic for India-China relations in the future.

The Disputed Border Remains Important

The improvement does not mean that all issues have been solved.

India maintains that the state of the border affects the entire relationship with China.

This statement was reiterated in August following some reports about new military activity in the remote region of Arunachal Pradesh. India rejected reports about an incursion as unfounded, while China stressed the general stability of the border situation.

This example shows why diplomacy is important: neither of the sides benefits from letting local border incidents or competing claims overshadow their cooperation in other areas.

For this reason, the Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit may become the platform for political talks, despite the absence of a bilateral breakthrough.

Sometimes, the main value of the summit is in maintaining constant dialogue while solving difficult issues at lower levels of contact.

Cultural Dialogue May Become Another Bridge

There are areas of India-China relations which do not focus only on military forces, politicians or business people.

As China’s Ambassador to India Xu Feihong noted earlier this year, the popularity of Indian yoga, cuisine and other elements of Indian culture in China suggests that there is an area for additional exchanges between societies of the two countries.

Such a softer aspect becomes especially important for India during its BRICS chairmanship.

India’s BRICS chairmanship is taking place under the slogan “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

Therefore, India’s BRICS program includes cooperation in various areas, among which are political, security, economic, financial and people-to-people engagement.

Of course, increased student exchanges, tourism, media contacts and cultural cooperation will not solve strategic disagreements of the two countries.

However, it will allow them to diversify their cooperation and reduce its dependence on government-to-government contacts.

Why BRICS Provides Grounds for India-China Cooperation

BRICS provides India and China with a platform for cooperation, which is impossible to obtain in bilateral negotiations between the two countries.

India’s BRICS chairmanship takes place under the slogan “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

Within the framework of such an approach, cooperation between India and China in BRICS does not require them to abandon their national interests.

They can disagree about the disputed border, but still agree on the representation of developing countries in international organisations. They can compete economically, but still strive for a stable supply chain. They can have problems with the balance of trade, but still expand their trade.

And, of course, they can manage their bilateral disagreements, but still cooperate in BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and other multilateral forums.

Modi and Xi Can Meet in New Delhi

A separate Modi-Xi meeting will become one of the key stories of the Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit.

However, currently, it is not officially confirmed.

Nevertheless, there is a precedent.

Last year, the talks of the two leaders became the beginning of a gradual improvement of the relations after the border confrontation of 2020, while this year, Modi and Xi met during Modi’s visit to China.

Another meeting in New Delhi will give an opportunity to them to discuss what has been achieved since then and to find new areas for cooperation.

However, expectations should be reasonable.

India-China relations contain decades of experience, and the summit will not solve all problems.

Nevertheless, political relations often are established through a series of small steps, rather than one big agreement.

From Competitors to Practical Partners?

The most interesting question related to Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit may be whether India and China become close partners now.

It is unrealistic expectation.

However, more important question will be whether India and China will be able to keep their disagreements under control and to expand the areas of their cooperation.

Current trends indicate that both sides see advantages of such an approach.

Border talks are continuing, flights and economic contacts are being resumed, high-level political contacts are restored, Beijing publicly discusses cooperation with India within BRICS and the Global South, while India insists on the stability of the border situation, which creates opportunities for development of the whole relationship.

Therefore, the BRICS Summit 2026 New Delhi will become the next step in this process.

For India, the visit of Xi to India will be a proof of New Delhi’s ability to maintain dialogue with one of its most important neighbours despite the existing disagreements.

For China, Xi’s participation at the highest level will show the importance of BRICS and of India-China relationship for Beijing.

And for BRICS itself, increased cooperation of two of its largest members will strengthen the group during the chairmanship of India, which tries to transform dialogue into practical cooperation within BRICS.

Therefore, the Xi Jinping BRICS Summit 2026 visit, if it will be confirmed officially, may matter less for any concrete decision made during September than for the process of transformation, which has already started: India and China once again found reasons for dialogue, trade and cooperation despite disagreements.