Even as the two-day BRICS summit, hosted by India in New Delhi, is barely a few hours away, and amid media reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the event, China had remained mum on Xi's attendance at the summit.
Xi, along with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, are among the top leaders expected to attend the meeting.
On Thursday afternoon, however, the Chinese media has come out with a clarification on the visit of XI to India—his first in seven years. State news agency Xinhua confirmed that Xi will be visiting India for the summit.
"At the invitation of Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping will attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13," the China MFA spokesperson also confirmed on social media.
Xi and Modi had briefly met earlier this month on the sidelines of the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Kyrgyzstan.
Xi last visited India in 2019 for an informal summit with Modi in Mamallapuram near Chennai.
He had earlier visited Goa in 2016 to attend the BRICS summit and made his first visit to India in September 2014, when he held extensive talks with Modi. The 2014 visit came during the first terms of both leaders in office.
According to analysts, the potential meeting between PM Modi and Xi is important to set the tone for the future of the bilateral ties, as there are several issues, including a trust deficit, hampering the diplomatic and economic engagements between the two countries.
Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the BRICS expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025. It has emerged as an influential grouping, as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP, and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
