NEW DELHI: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in New Delhi on Saturday (Sep 12) for a BRICS summit alongside leaders from India, Russia and Iran, as wars, trade and energy test the divided grouping.
The conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, along with global trade turbulence and energy security, are expected to dominate the two-day meeting of the 11-nation bloc.
But Xi’s visit will also be closely watched as his first to neighbouring India since 2019, and the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between the nuclear-armed rivals.
His arrival comes six years after a deadly 2020 military clash along their disputed Tibetan border, with ties gradually improving through restored flights, visas and high-level contacts.
Beijing said Friday it was „ready to work with India … by strengthening communication, enhancing cooperation, and properly handling differences“.
The underlying territorial dispute remains unresolved, and both sides retain heavy military deployments along their roughly 3,500km high-altitude border along Tibet.
„SUBSTANTIAL HARVEST“
Xi is due to hold face-to-face talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Saturday, according to New Delhi’s foreign ministry.
„They are looking for ‚early and substantial harvest‘ when it comes to the border issue,“ said Pradeep Taneja, a China-India expert at the University of Melbourne.
„You cannot have a buildup of your forces on the border … but at the same time say ‚we should continue to have people-to-people relations and economic relationships.'“
Deep mistrust remains, with their contested Himalayan frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry still complicating ties.
