Chinese President Xi Jinping could visit India next month to attend the upcoming BRICS summit, which is being hosted by New Delhi. According to international media reports, the Chinese leader is expected to make the trip alongside a massive delegation comprising roughly 400 officials. However, Beijing has not yet made any official announcement or confirmation regarding the proposed tour.
Should the visit materialize, it would mark Xi Jinping's first trip to India in seven years, following his previous visit in 2019. The potential visit comes against the backdrop of strained diplomatic relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors following the violent military clashes along the disputed Himalayan border in 2020. Consequently, his expected presence is being viewed as another significant step toward stabilizing bilateral ties.
India is scheduled to host the BRICS leaders' summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. Xi Jinping's attendance will not only put the spotlight on the bloc's official agenda but will also place the state of India-China relations firmly at the center of global attention. An Indian official source involved in the summit preparations revealed that Chinese authorities are already working on logistical arrangements, including hotel bookings and security protocols, in anticipation of the visit.
Two additional sources corroborated that the visiting delegation could include around 400 officials, more than double the size of the delegation of fewer than 200 personnel that accompanied the Chinese President during his 2019 tour. Despite these preparations, Beijing has remained tight-lipped. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that while China attaches great significance to BRICS cooperation and supports India in hosting this year's summit, it currently has no information to share regarding a visit by Xi. Notably, the Chinese President also skipped the 2025 BRICS summit held in Brazil.
Border Disputes and Residual Tensions
The potential visit takes place as a long-standing territorial dispute continues to cast a shadow over bilateral relations. Ties nosedived following a deadly military clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which resulted in casualties on both sides and triggered a prolonged military standoff along the roughly 3,800-kilometer disputed frontier.
Although a formal disengagement agreement was reached between the two nations in October 2024, easing acute front-line friction, a comprehensive and permanent resolution to the border dispute remains elusive. On August 12, India reiterated that maintaining peace and tranquility along the border is vital for the overall health of the relationship. That statement followed reports that Indian and Chinese patrol teams had an inadvertent face-off in a remote border sector in late July.
Diplomatic Engagement and High-Level Talks
In a bid to bridge differences and maintain momentum, diplomatic channels remain active. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Monday to hold discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, covering the border dispute and other pressing regional matters. Doval's diplomatic mission is widely seen as crucial in clearing the path for Xi Jinping's prospective visit.
Since the 2024 troop disengagement pact, both sides have steadily increased diplomatic dialogue, attempting to insulate their broader economic and strategic competition from derailing baseline stability. Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to China last year in the first such visit in seven years. Officials from both countries are expected to leverage the BRICS platform to explore further diplomatic outreach, address outstanding territorial disagreements, and discuss regional security frameworks.
While the final schedule of Xi Jinping's trip and the exact agenda for any bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi are still being finalized, the engagement underscores a pragmatic realization. Despite remaining strategic competitors amid growing global economic and geopolitical pressures, both India and China share a common stake in reinforcing the BRICS framework and preventing localized frictions from overwhelming wider cooperation.
