China Envoy Signals Reset With India Ahead of Xi-Modi BRICS Meet

China will work with India to strengthen cooperation, manage differences and follow the strategic guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong said ahead of Xi’s visit to New Delhi for the BRICS Summit.

Xu also confirmed that preparations were underway for a bilateral meeting between Xi and Modi on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday.

“China and India are arranging for the bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi,” Xu said in a post on X. He noted that it would be the third consecutive year the two leaders have met, following their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin.

The Chinese envoy signalled Beijing’s interest in improving ties with New Delhi, saying the two countries should approach their relationship from a “strategic height and long-term perspective”.

“China will work with India to act on the strategic guidance of the two leaders, handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, step up communication, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences,” Xu said.

He added that China and India should be “friends enjoying good-neighbourliness and partners helping each other succeed”.

Xi is visiting India for the first time in nearly seven years to attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi at Modi’s invitation. His visit comes after the two countries took several steps towards easing tensions following the prolonged military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.

Xi last visited India in October 2019, when he travelled to Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu for the second informal India-China summit with Modi. Less than six months later, Indian and Chinese troops became locked in a military confrontation in Ladakh that lasted for more than four years and sent bilateral relations to their lowest point in decades.

Xi-Modi Talks: Key Issues

The bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit is expected to focus on efforts to further normalise ties and the unresolved border dispute.

Despite recent moves towards improving relations, several differences remain.

India has raised concerns over Chinese visa restrictions affecting Indian businesspeople, as well as curbs on exports of key technologies and equipment. China, meanwhile, has maintained that the boundary question should not be allowed to define the broader relationship.

New Delhi has consistently maintained that peace and tranquillity along the border are essential for the overall development of India-China ties.

Xi’s visit also comes amid reports of fresh tensions between Indian and Chinese troops in the Taksing area of Arunachal Pradesh.

Another major concern for India is China’s planned $137-billion mega dam project on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra River on the Tibetan plateau. New Delhi has sought greater transparency and information-sharing from Beijing over the project, particularly amid concerns following the recent glacier collapse in Nepal.