Jinping Is Coming To India After 7 Years, Why Does It Matter?

Chinese President Xi Jinping is coming to India this week for the BRICS summit in New Delhi, his first visit to the country in seven years. Since the Galwan clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in 2020, Indo-China relations have been gradually moving forward and today, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed on X that Xi accepted India’s invitation to attend the BRICS summit, saying that he will be in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.

However, it is not confirmed yet if Xi will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi.

The last time Xi was in India, in 2019, relations between the two countries were very different. A year later, in 2020, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in Galwan, thousands of troops were deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the relationship between the two countries took a serious hit. Border became the centre of Indo-China relations since then.

After the clash, Modi and Xi first met in Russia in 2024, in their first bilateral meeting in five years. This was after India and China reached an agreement regarding patrolling on the LAC. In the meeting, both leaders discussed the necessity to maintain peace and stability on the border and also concluded to revive diplomacy between the two countries regarding the dispute.

Last year, in 2025, Modi and Xi met again in Tianjin, China, and the discussion went beyond the border dispute. More people-to-people exchanges, Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, tourism, and other things were discussed in this meeting apart from trade and investment. A PMO release after the meeting stated that there was a “need to proceed from a political and strategic direction to expand bilateral trade and investment ties and reduce trade deficit.”

That makes the economic relationship an important part of the picture.

India and China recorded around $151 billion in goods trade in FY 2025-26. India imported about $131.6 billion worth of goods from China and exported around $19.5 billion, leaving a trade deficit of roughly $112 billion.

A large part of these imports goes into Indian industry. Chinese machinery, electronics components, pharmaceutical inputs, auto components and other intermediate goods are used across several sectors. This means India’s effort to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on China is happening alongside continued demand for Chinese goods.

The trade imbalance is therefore likely to remain an important issue in any discussion on improving economic ties. India wants greater access to the Chinese market, while also seeking to strengthen domestic manufacturing and diversify its sources of supply.

The US is another part of the broader context. India has significantly expanded its strategic relationship with Washington, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, while continuing to maintain its own engagement with Beijing. Modi and Xi have also previously stressed that their relationship should be handled directly between the two countries and not viewed through the perspective of another country.

The BRICS summit gives both sides an opportunity to continue that engagement.

For India, the immediate significance of Xi’s visit is that it brings the Chinese leadership to New Delhi at a point when several channels of bilateral engagement have reopened after years of limited contact. The border, trade, investment, travel and broader economic ties are all areas where the two countries have already begun discussions.

What comes out of those discussions, particularly between Modi and Xi if there is a bilateral meeting, will show where the relationship goes from here.

For now, Xi’s visit marks another step in a process that began with the easing of border tensions and has gradually expanded into other areas of India-China relations.