New Delhi, September 11: Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit New Delhi this weekend for the BRICS Summit, with his planned meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to focus on efforts to stabilise bilateral relations and address outstanding issues between the two Asian powers.
Xi will be in India on September 12 and 13 for the summit. His visit will be his first to the country since 2019 and comes after several years of strained relations following the deadly border confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops in 2020.
The upcoming Modi-Xi meeting is being closely watched as both sides have taken a series of steps in recent years to reduce tensions and restore limited engagement.Relations began showing signs of improvement after Modi and Xi met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024.
The two countries subsequently continued diplomatic engagement, while direct air services between India and China were restored and some restrictions on Chinese investments in India were eased.
Border-related discussions have also continued, although a complete settlement of the long-running boundary dispute remains elusive.Officials and analysts expect the two leaders to discuss a broad range of issues, including border management, trade, investment and greater people-to-people contacts.
Economic cooperation is likely to be an important component of the talks. India has concerns over access to critical Chinese supplies, particularly rare-earth materials and components that are important for modern manufacturing, technology and clean-energy industries.At the same time, China remains cautious about India’s expanding strategic and defence cooperation with the United States and its role in wider Indo-Pacific initiatives.
China’s close relationship with Pakistan is another sensitive issue for New Delhi. Beijing’s defence cooperation with Islamabad has remained a source of concern for India, particularly amid continuing security tensions in the region.
Despite recent diplomatic progress, experts caution against viewing the latest developments as a complete reset in India-China relations. The two countries continue to have significant strategic differences and deep mistrust stemming from the border dispute.
The changing global environment is also influencing the relationship. India’s ties with Washington have faced challenges over trade, while China has sought to manage its own relationship with the United States.
These developments could create both opportunities and complications for India-China engagement.Analysts believe that concrete progress on border stability, trade and investment mechanisms, rare-earth supplies and cooperation in emerging areas such as green technology could provide an indication of whether the current improvement in relations can develop into a more durable phase.
Xi’s presence in New Delhi is therefore being viewed less as a final resolution of India-China differences and more as an opportunity to keep diplomatic channels open and prevent bilateral tensions from escalating again.
The outcome of the Modi-Xi talks could provide an important indication of the direction of India-China relations in the coming months.
