China Confirms Xi Jinping to Visit India After 7-Year Gap

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit India for the first time in seven years to attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi this weekend. 

The trip, scheduled for September 12 to 13 following an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, represents a notable diplomatic step forward for the two neighboring Asian nations.

The visit comes as Beijing and New Delhi work to gradually warm bilateral ties through the restoration of flights, visas, and high-level contacts. A cautious thaw previously began when Modi traveled to China in August last year for his own bilateral engagement.

Relations between the countries had severely strained after a deadly 2020 border clash along the high-altitude demarcation line separating Tibet and the Indian region of Ladakh.

That violent confrontation claimed the lives of twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops.

Despite recent diplomatic progress, significant friction and deep mistrust remain between the rivals.

Both governments continue to face complications stemming from a contested frontier where each accuses the other of attempting to seize territory, alongside a widening trade deficit and broad strategic rivalry.