India-China thaw: 5 things on Xi's Delhi visit
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to make his first visit to India in over two years for the BRICS summit on September 12-13 in New Delhi. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's own visit to China in August 2025. The two nuclear-armed Asian giants have been cautiously improving their relationship since a deadly 2020 border clash, which killed 24 soldiers in total.
Flights, visas and some high-level contacts have been gradually restored, but deep mistrust remains due to their disputed Himalayan frontier, a trade deficit, and strategic rivalry. Here are five key points to know about Xi's visit:
1. The June 2020 border clash in Ladakh was a turning point that led to renewed political contacts between the two countries. However, the border dispute remains unresolved, and both sides maintain heavy military deployments along their 3,500-kilometer border.
2. Despite the improved ties, China remains India's largest trading partner with a significant trade deficit of $112 billion in 2025-26. India imports $131 billion worth of goods from China, while exports are only $19 billion.
3. China and India are both members of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), with Beijing viewing Xi's visit as a chance to bolster BRICS as an alternative institution to US-dominated ones. However, India's security partnership with the US and its close ties with Pakistan's arch-rival, China, are viewed with concern by New Delhi.
4. Confidence-building measures have slowly warmed ties since 2024, including the resumption of border trade, visa ease, and a key Hindu pilgrimage to Tibet's Mount Kailash. Direct flights, suspended for over five years, were restarted in October 2025.
5. While ties have improved, analysts remain cautious about the potential for a breakthrough in the relationship. The mistrust between India and China is still immense, and unless there is a demonstrable shift in Chinese behavior, many in India are unlikely to accept the narrative of India-China friendship.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
