China’s Xi likely to visit India with big delegation for first time in seven years

• Xi’s first India visit in seven years signals thaw.
• China planning 400-member delegation for Brics meet.
• Xi visit may test fragile India-China rapprochement.
  

Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to attend next month’s Brics summit in New Delhi with a large delegation, three sources said, in what would be his first visit in seven years and a fresh sign of a thaw between the rivals.

India is hosting the September 12 to 13 summit, where Xi’s presence would be watched less for the Brics agenda than for what it signals about Beijing and New Delhi’s efforts to stabilise relations after deadly border clashes in 2020.

“Chinese officials are busy finalising hotels and security protocols,” one of the Indian sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.

Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China for the first time in seven years, but the relationship has only improved gradually. More recently, a fresh border-related dispute triggered sharp diplomatic exchanges between the two sides.

Two other Indian sources said Xi was likely to be accompanied by a delegation of about 400 officials, compared with fewer than 200 officials the last time in 2019.

Officials from both countries are expected to use the summit to explore ways to expand engagement while managing long-standing differences over the border and regional security issues, the sources added.

Xi’s final travel plans and agenda for any potential bilateral meeting between India and China are yet to be finalised, the sources said.

The Chinese foreign ministry said, “China attaches great importance to and actively participates in Brics cooperation, and supports India, the current chair, in successfully hosting this year’s Brics summit.”

“We currently have no information available to provide” about Xi’s visit, it said. Xi missed the last Brics summit in 2025 in Brazil.

India’s foreign ministry did not comment.

India-China border issue

The world’s two most populous nations, both nuclear powers, share a roughly 3,800-km (2,400-mile), largely undemarcated and disputed border in the Himalayas.

Decades of relative peace along the border were shattered by 2020 clashes where 20 Indianand four Chinese soldiers were killed.The incident led to a four-year military standoff before reaching a disengagement pact in October 2024.

But on August 12, India said peace along the border was critical to ties after reports that Indian and Chinese army patrols came face-to-face in late July near a remote border.

India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Monday started his visit to Beijing to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to hold talks on the boundary issue.

While India and China remain competitors, US President Donald Trump’s trade policies have created one area of convergence, making Xi’s attendance a signal that neither side wants external pressure to undermine Brics.