Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit New Delhi for the BRICS summit on September 12 and 13, his first trip to India in four years, amid ongoing mistrust and cautious engagement between the two powers, with bilateral talks and trade negotiations hanging in the balance.
China has confirmed that Xi Jinping will travel to New Delhi for the BRICS summit on September 12 and 13, his first visit to India since 2019, but the key question is whether he will sit down with Narendra Modi for a bilateral meeting that could shape the next phase of ties. Indian and Chinese officials have been working to steady a relationship long defined by suspicion, from the 1962 war to the deadly border clash in 2020 that left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead. Yet the summit has also revived expectations that both sides may try to keep relations on a more practical footing, even if major breakthroughs remain unlikely. Reuters reported that analysts still see deep mistrust between the two governments, despite recent signs of caution and engagement.
The diplomatic backdrop has improved only gradually. According to Reuters, Xi and Modi briefly met in Kyrgyzstan this month, and Chinese officials said the two countries are “partners, not competitors”. Separate Indian reports have suggested that a formal bilateral meeting could happen on September 12, though it has not been confirmed publicly. The broader summit is expected to draw several major leaders, including Vladimir Putin, as India uses the gathering to underline its role in multilateral diplomacy.
Trade has become the most visible test of whether the two sides can ease tensions in a more concrete way. India loosened some restrictions in March on Chinese investment imposed after the 2020 border violence, particularly in electronics, capital goods and solar cells, and it has started approving selected projects, including a manufacturing tie-up involving Dixon Technologies and Vivo Mobile. Even so, Reuters reported that prominent Chinese groups such as BYD and Great Wall Motor have not returned to the Indian market after facing tougher scrutiny. At the same time, New Delhi has rejected some Chinese-linked financial and technology proposals on security grounds, while India is also reviewing allegations involving Xiaomi.
The frictions run both ways. Reuters said Chinese authorities have also tightened their own scrutiny of Indian-linked proposals in sectors involving advanced manufacturing and technology, while some Indian business travellers have recently struggled to obtain visas. Equipment shipments from China for Indian solar, electronics and infrastructure projects have also been delayed, including tunnelling machines held for more than a year, according to Indian sources cited by Reuters. Observers say those bottlenecks show how much leverage each side can still exert over the other, even as leaders talk up cooperation. A meeting between Modi and Xi could ease some of those pressures, but for now the relationship still looks more fragile than transformed.
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