‘Scarf, bottle, super food’: What’s in goodie bag given to media delegates at BRICS Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend a BRICS summit with leaders from India, Russia, and Iran. The two-day meeting aims to address conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, global trade turbulence, and energy security, but Xi's visit is also noteworthy as it is his first to neighboring India since 2019.

This is seen as a significant step toward easing tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, which were at odds following a deadly 2020 military clash along their disputed Tibetan border. The underlying territorial dispute remains unresolved, with both countries maintaining heavy military deployments along the roughly 3,500-kilometre high-altitude border.

Xi is scheduled to hold face-to-face talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Saturday. According to China-India expert Pradeep Taneja, both sides are seeking "early and substantial harvest" in terms of border relations, despite deep mistrust stemming from the Himalayan frontier, a widening trade deficit, and strategic rivalry. Tibetan exiles protested in New Delhi on Friday, waving placards against Xi's visit, while Indian Prime Minister Modi embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin before their meeting.

The BRICS grouping, formed in 2009, consists of China, India, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The summit highlights the bloc's importance as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj highlighted that BRICS nations represent 50% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP, and more than 2% of global trade.

However, tensions over the US-Iran war and differing positions on the conflict could complicate relations among the group.