Xi Jinping arrives in Delhi for Brics summit, set for talks with PM Modi

Xi was received at the Delhi airport by Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday for the 18th BRICS Summit, beginning a two-day visit to India that marks his first trip to the country in seven years.Xi was received at the Delhi airport by Union minister of state for commerce and industry Jitin Prasada, with cultural artistes from the Northeast and other parts of India performing traditional dances to welcome the Chinese leader.

The ministry of external affairs said on X, “Warm welcome to President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China on his arrival in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit. He was received by MoS @JitinPrasada at the airport. We look forward to constructive discussions as BRICS continues to advance cooperation and contribute to a more balanced, representative and multipolar world.”

Xi's arrival comes ahead of his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scheduled for 6pm on Saturday.

PM Modi-Xi talks amid efforts to repair ties

The visit follows a series of high-level engagements between India and China aimed at rebuilding ties after the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020 and the subsequent military standoff in eastern Ladakh.National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held Special Representative talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing last month. The discussions covered the India-China boundary question, including delimitation of the frontier, trans-boundary cooperation and maintaining peace along the LAC.

Both Doval and Wang are designated Special Representatives for the boundary talks mechanism, established in 2003 to address the 3,488-km India-China border dispute.PM Modi and Xi had also held wide-ranging talks on August 31 last year on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.Xi's delegation includes Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, as well as Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister.