BRICS 2026: Xi Jinping arrives in India for first visit since Galwan standoff

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday for a two-day visit to attend the BRICS Summit, marking his first trip to India in seven years and offering a fresh opportunity for the two countries to further normalise bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to host Xi for bilateral talks at 6 pm on Saturday. The two leaders are expected to undertake a comprehensive review of India-China relations, with discussions likely to focus on strengthening economic engagement, including trade and investment.

Xi was received at Delhi airport by Union Minister Jitin Prasada, while cultural artistes performed traditional dances to welcome the Chinese president.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed Xi’s arrival, saying: “We look forward to constructive discussions as BRICS continues to advance cooperation and contribute to a more balanced, representative and multipolar world.”

Xi’s delegation includes Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The visit comes against the backdrop of efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to repair relations that deteriorated sharply following the military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Over the past few months, the two sides have undertaken several confidence-building measures aimed at restoring bilateral engagement.

Modi and Xi are expected to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and explore further measures to stabilise ties. Concerns, however, continue over Chinese military activity along the Arunachal Pradesh sector.

The two leaders last held wide-ranging talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin on 31 August last year.

Ahead of Xi’s visit, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held Special Representative talks with Wang in Beijing late last month. The discussions focused on the India-China boundary dispute, including delimitation of the frontier, trans-boundary cooperation and maintaining peace along the LAC.

Doval and Wang are the designated Special Representatives for the boundary talks mechanism, established in 2003 to address the dispute along the 3,488-km India-China border.

Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said Beijing would work with New Delhi to follow the “strategic guidance” of the two leaders, strengthen communication, expand cooperation and properly manage differences.

“China will work with India to act on the strategic guidance of the two leaders, handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, step up communication, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences, and be friends enjoying good-neighbourliness and partners helping each other succeed,” Xu said.

Xi’s visit is being closely watched for signs of further progress in restoring political and economic ties between the two Asian powers after years of tensions along the border.