Xi lands in India as wars overshadow BRICS summit

TLE DESK: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday for a BRICS summit with leaders from India, Russia and Iran, as wars, trade tensions and energy security concerns threaten to overshadow the grouping’s efforts to strengthen cooperation.

The two-day summit of the 11-member bloc is expected to focus heavily on the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as global trade tensions and energy security.

But Xi’s visit has also attracted considerable attention as his first trip to India since 2019, marking the latest and most significant step in a cautious improvement in relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Xi received a ceremonial welcome in New Delhi, including an honour guard and traditional dancers in colourful dress.

His arrival comes six years after a deadly military clash along the disputed Himalayan border in 2020. Relations have since shown signs of improvement, with flights, visas and high-level diplomatic contacts gradually being restored.

Beijing said on Friday that it was ready to work with India by strengthening communication, expanding cooperation and properly managing differences.

However, the long-running territorial dispute remains unresolved. Both countries continue to maintain substantial military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre high-altitude border.

Border tensions remain a key issue

Xi is expected to hold face-to-face talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Saturday, according to India’s foreign ministry.

“They are looking for an early and substantial harvest when it comes to the border issue,” said Pradeep Taneja, a China-India expert at the University of Melbourne.

“You cannot have a build-up of your forces on the border … but at the same time say we should continue to have people-to-people relations and economic relationships,” he said.

Despite the recent thaw, deep mistrust remains between Beijing and New Delhi. The unresolved border dispute, India’s widening trade deficit with China and their broader strategic rivalry continue to complicate bilateral ties.

Dozens of Tibetans protested in New Delhi on Friday against Xi’s visit. They included Tibetan exiles, like their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing a Chinese crackdown in 1959.

Meanwhile, Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin after the two leaders warmly embraced on Friday. Putin, who last visited India in December 2025, remains one of New Delhi’s key strategic partners.

India has responded to the energy crisis linked to the US-Iran war partly by increasing reliance on Russian energy, despite Moscow’s war in Ukraine and pressure from Washington and other Western capitals.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who arrived in New Delhi on Friday, said pressure on Iran had reached a “critical and dangerous stage” following what he described as “military aggression by the United States and Israel”.

Modi and Pezeshkian also held talks as India sought to balance its relations with Iran and Israel while maintaining close ties with Washington.

Expansion brings new challenges

BRICS was established in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking a greater voice in international institutions traditionally dominated by Western powers.

Modi told BRICS leaders that the grouping now represents around 50 per cent of the world’s population, 40 per cent of global GDP and more than 25 per cent of global trade.

The bloc’s expansion has brought in countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose positions on the Middle East conflict vary considerably.

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are also expected to attend the summit.

Brazil is being represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva campaigns for a fourth term ahead of October’s election.

The divisions within the expanded bloc were already evident in May, when BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement during their meeting in New Delhi.

“The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit,” said Harsh V. Pant of India’s Observer Research Foundation.

“What was seen until last year as an achievement — the expansion of BRICS — today looks like a big constraint on BRICS,” Pant said.