Diplomacy & Geopolitics
Xi Jinping arrives in India for BRICS summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday for a two-day BRICS summit with leaders from India, Russia, Iran and other member states, as wars, trade turbulence and energy security test the expanded bloc.
Xi received a red-carpet welcome, with an honour guard and traditional dancers. His trip is his first to India since 2019 and is being watched as a major step in a cautious thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Xi is due to hold face-to-face talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later Saturday, according to New Delhi's foreign ministry. Beijing said Friday it was ready to work with India by strengthening communication, expanding cooperation and properly handling differences.
Relations between India and China deteriorated after a deadly 2020 military clash along their disputed Tibetan border. Flights, visas and high-level contacts have gradually resumed, but the territorial dispute remains unresolved and both sides retain large military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre high-altitude border.
Modi held talks Friday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and met Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of New Delhi's most important strategic partners. Pezeshkian said pressure on Iran had reached a “critical and dangerous stage” after what he called “military aggression by the United States and Israel”.
BRICS was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers. Modi told leaders that BRICS countries represent 50 percent of the world's population, 40 percent of global GDP and more than 25 percent of global trade.
The bloc has expanded to 11 members, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose positions differ on the Middle East war involving Iran, Israel and the United States. BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement when they met in New Delhi in May.
Update
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday for the BRICS summit.
Xi received a red-carpet welcome with an honour guard and traditional dancers.
Xi is due to hold face-to-face talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later Saturday, according to New Delhi's foreign ministry.
Modi told leaders that BRICS countries represent 50 percent of the world's population, 40 percent of global GDP and more than 25 percent of global trade.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 September 2026 at 06:59:25 UTC.
Update
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were in India on Friday for talks before the BRICS summit.
Pezeshkian spoke at a forum in New Delhi and met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was expected to arrive Saturday for his first visit to India since 2019.
China's foreign ministry said Beijing was ready to work with India while properly handling differences.
Tibetan exiles protested in New Delhi against Xi's visit.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 14:05:22 UTC.
Update
Pezeshkian said BRICS was established to counter unilateralism, according to IRNA.
Modi and Pezeshkian are expected to discuss energy and Indian investment in Iran's Chabahar port.
IRNA said Pezeshkian will also meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The item adds that recent conflict has raised concerns over Chabahar port's security and future, while US sanctions complicate India's engagement with Iran.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 09:20:15 UTC.
Update
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were in India on Friday ahead of the BRICS summit.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive on Saturday for his first visit to India since 2019.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to hold talks with Putin and Pezeshkian.
Tibetans protested in New Delhi against Xi's visit.
Beijing said it was ready to work with India while properly handling differences.
Analysts cited by AFP said the Middle East conflict could test BRICS cohesion.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 09:22:56 UTC.
Update
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is on his first visit to India as leader.
IRNA said Pezeshkian will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 08:55:21 UTC.
Update
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in India for the BRICS summit.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 08:48:27 UTC.
Update
Putin was due to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Friday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was set to arrive on Saturday for his first visit to India since 2019.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was expected on Friday for his first visit to India as Iranian president and was due to meet Modi.
United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi were also expected at the summit.
Modi posted a Sanskrit welcome message for arriving leaders on social media.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Kyiv this month, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked India for its commitment to ending the war.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 04:21:48 UTC.
Update
Putin arrived at Palam Air Force Station and was greeted by India's Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, according to RIA Novosti footage.
The summit is described as an 11-member BRICS meeting expected to be dominated by wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as economic challenges.
Indian diplomatic sources said Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were due to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Chinese President Xi Jinping was also expected to meet him on the sidelines.
The item adds context on Xi's first visit to India since 2019 and the cautious thaw in India-China relations.
Analysts cited in the item said the Gulf conflict and the war in Iran would test BRICS cohesion.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 22:38:42 UTC.
Update
China said President Xi Jinping will attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13.
Xi's trip will be his first visit to India in seven years.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 10:12:25 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The outcome of the expected Xi-Modi talks was not yet known.
The source material does not report whether BRICS leaders will agree on a joint summit statement.
Source
AFP news report published on .