Chinese President Xi Jinping travelled to India on Saturday for the first time in seven years to attend the Brics Summit, setting the stage for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advance the normalisation of ties amid lingering tensions on the border.
Xi, who last visited the Indian capital in 2014, was received at the airport by minister of state for commerce Jitin Prasada.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India looks forward to constructive discussions with China as Brics advances cooperation and contributes to a more balanced, representative and multipolar world.
Since Xi’s last visit, India-China trade has grown from about $93 billion in 2019 to $127 billion in 2025, while India’s trade deficit has risen from $57 billion to almost $100 billion in the same period.
People familiar with the matter said the Indian side is also expected to raise a range of concerns, including China’s visa curbs for Indian businesspeople, export restrictions on critical machinery and commodities such as fertilisers, and the yawning imbalance in two-way trade.
