Xi Jinping to Visit India after 7 years for BRICS Summit

Synopsis

On September 10, 2026, China confirmed that Xi Jinping will be visiting India for the first time in almost 7 years as India braces to host the 18th BRICS summit scheduled to be held from September 11, 2026 to September 13, 2026. Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao and Commerce Minister of India, Piyush Goyal will be holding bilateral talks on the sidelines of BRICS summit, signaling a major step towards normalization of relations between the two countries since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.

Bilateral Talks Scheduled

Chinese president Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit India, accompanied by a large delegation including Politburo member and foreign minister Wang Yi and Commerce minister Wang Wentao, who will be holding bilateral talks with Indian Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal. The two are expected to discuss current trade situation and the difficulties arising, while India seeks an ease on export controls and China expects relaxation on investment restrictions.

“At the invitation of Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping will attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13,” China's foreign ministry statement read.

This is the first official visit in almost seven years after the April 2020 border violence, followed by Galwan Valley clashes in June, 2020 marking the worst violence in many years while led to a decline in diplomatic relations between the two countries. Xi Jinping last visited India in October 2019 as an informal visit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mamallapuram, Chennai.

Normalization of Relations

The leaders of the two countries also met in October 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, thereby working towards gradual normalization in relations and mutual trust. PM Modi and Xi Jinping last met in August, 2025 at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China. Both the countries acknowledged the positive momentum in bilateral relations while reaffirming the fact that the two countries are development partners and not rivals and are therefore committed to not let their differences turn into disputes.

Last month in Beijing, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and foreign minister Wang, highlighted the positive impact of the meetings in steering the trajectory of the relationships towards a more diplomatic direction.

In August, China and India agreed to start discussions on “an Early and Substantial Harvest of boundary delimitation” as per an eight-point outcome document released after the 25th round of talks between Special Representatives in Beijing. The two countries will also be holding another meeting of an expert level mechanism on trans-border rivers discussing the sharing of hydrological data and other issues later this month.

Disputes and Tensions in Arunachal Pradesh

Despite several diplomatic efforts and engagements, recent weeks have seen reports of tensions and a stand-off in the eastern sector in Arunachal Pradesh, an area where both countries have overlapping claims. The two countries have agreed on additional meeting points to hold Senior Highest Military Commander meetings and two additional channels of border military hotlines in the Eastern and Middle sector of the border.

Indian and Chinese armies, on September 6, held their first Corps Commander-level meeting in the Eastern Sector, thereby expanding the dialogue in military domain beyond the Ladakh sector.