Chinese President Xi Jinping to arrive Saturday for BRICS, meet PM Modi before leaving Sunday
Chinese President Xi Jinping is arriving in New Delhi to attend the BRICS Leaders' Summit and hold a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, before departing the following morning.
This is Xi's first visit to India in seven years.
The visit takes place as India and China work to stabilise relations while unresolved differences persist over the boundary, trade, and market access.
Recent Corps Commander-level talks were held regarding tensions in the Arunachal Pradesh sector.
India has selectively eased restrictions on Chinese investment since March 2026, including approvals in the power-equipment sector and an electronics manufacturing partnership, while continuing stringent scrutiny of large Chinese-controlled investment in strategic sectors.
The Line of Actual Control (LAC) and India-China Border Management
The LAC is the de facto, largely undemarcated boundary separating Indian and Chinese-held territory, distinct from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan (which derives from the 1972 Shimla Agreement) and the International Boundary. The LAC has three sectors — Western (Ladakh), Middle (Himachal Pradesh/Uttarakhand), and Eastern (Sikkim/Arunachal Pradesh) — and its alignment is contested, unlike the demarcated LoC.
Xi's visit and meeting with the Prime Minister builds on the post-Kazan (2024) trajectory of disengagement and dialogue, even as fresh friction points (e.g., Arunachal Pradesh) show the relationship remains only partially stabilised.
India-China Economic Relations and Investment Screening
Since April 2020, India has required government approval for investment from countries sharing a land border with it (Press Note 3), a rule aimed primarily at Chinese investment following the border standoff, layered on ongoing scrutiny of Chinese apps and trade.
Key Details
- India runs a large and persistent trade deficit with China, concentrated in electronics, machinery, and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), a recurring "self-reliance versus supply-chain dependence" theme in GS Mains answers.
- Selective easing since March 2026 in sectors like power equipment and electronics manufacturing signals a calibrated, sector-by-sector approach rather than a blanket reopening.
- Direct flight restoration (suspended since the 2020 standoff) is one of the people-to-people/economic normalisation markers tracked alongside diplomatic engagement.
The bilateral meeting on the sidelines of BRICS is being read against this selective-thaw backdrop — economic engagement resuming in narrow bands even as strategic and boundary issues remain unresolved.
- Xi's visit: first to India in seven years; arrival for BRICS Summit, bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister before departure the next morning.
- Galwan clash: 15-16 June 2020; 20 Indian soldiers killed; China later confirmed 4 PLA soldiers killed.
- LAC disengagement at Depsang and Demchok: agreed 21 October 2024, patrolling resumed by end of October 2024.
- Previous Modi-Xi bilateral meeting: October 2024, on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia — their first formal bilateral talks since the 2020 Galwan clash.
- Press Note 3 (April 2020): mandates government approval for investment from bordering countries, primarily affecting China.