Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit India soon. This would be his first visit to the country since the 2020 clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley. India has invited Xi to attend the BRICS summit scheduled to be held in the country this September. Reports suggest that Xi is prepared to undertake this visit. The visit holds significant importance, given that bilateral relations between the two nations had hit a low point following the Galwan incident.
India holds the BRICS presidency this year. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Xi is likely to attend the summit in Delhi, especially given China’s expressed support for India’s presidency of the bloc. While neither China nor India has issued an official announcement regarding Xi’s visit yet, it is understood that India has already sent a formal invitation to the Chinese President to attend the summit.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that BRICS serves as a crucial platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing nations. She emphasized that China attaches great importance to BRICS cooperation and actively participates in the bloc’s activities. She further affirmed that China fully supports India—which holds the BRICS presidency this year—in successfully hosting the summit.
The BRICS summit is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. An official announcement regarding Xi Jinping’s attendance at this summit is awaited. If Xi visits India, it will mark his first trip to the country since the 2020 Galwan clash. Xi last visited India in October 2019, when he held a second informal summit with Prime Minister Modi in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, India-China relations suffered a severe setback following the 2020 clash between the two nations’ troops in the Galwan Valley. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi visited China in 2025 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Tianjin; this marked his first visit to China in nearly seven years.
The Kremlin has already confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to visit India for the BRICS summit. Reports suggest that Iran, a BRICS member nation, is also likely to participate in the summit, although there has been no official announcement yet regarding the level of the delegation that will attend. Additionally, reports indicate that Bangladesh is considering participating in the BRICS summit at the highest level. Prime Minister Modi has reportedly extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to attend the summit in New Delhi. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Khalilur Rahman, stated on Wednesday that the invitation is currently under review. The BRICS alliance initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE joined the bloc in 2024, followed by Indonesia in 2025. With India currently holding the presidency of the expanded BRICS alliance, there is significant international interest in the summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi this September.