China’s Xi Jinping to make first trip to India in 7 years for Brics summit

China has confirmed that President Xi Jinping will travel to New Delhi for the Brics summit this weekend, his first visit to India in close to seven years and the latest leg of the Chinese leader’s busiest run of summitry in years.

China’s foreign ministry said Xi would attend the summit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Xi is expected to have a sit-down with Modi on the sidelines of the summit.

The Chinese president’s visit to India follows closely on a packed diplomatic travel schedule that first took him to Kyrgyzstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, and then to Egypt last week for his first state visit there in a decade. He is expected to travel to Washington later this month to meet US President Donald Trump.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will also be in Delhi for the Brics meeting, as will Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.

Xi’s visit to India comes as the two Asian neighbours work to improve ties that soured after a deadly border clash in 2020 triggered a years-long military stand-off. The two sides have taken steps to strengthen relations, including resuming direct flights last October and restarting border trade last month.