Modi, Xi Declare India-China "Partners" at BRICS Summit — SkimNews
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- Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, reaching what Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the "most important consensus" that China and India should be partners rather than rivals
- Wang Yi said both leaders agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas, support each other as rotating BRICS chairs, and place development at the centre of shared interests
- The Chinese Foreign Ministry said India-China relations had moved from a "restart" to "renewed elevation," noting trade had reached record highs and people-to-people exchanges were growing more dynamic
- Modi told Xi that India's approach to China was "independent of third-party influence" and that India would not allow anti-China activities on its territory, according to Wang's read-out
- Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in cultural exchanges, direct air connectivity and people-to-people ties, and to step up coordination in the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the G20
- China takes over the BRICS chair for 2027, and Wang framed the bilateral reset as an important pillar for stronger cooperation across the Global South serving 2.8 billion people
Why it matters: Modi's pledge that India's China policy is "independent of third-party influence" — a clear signal distancing from US alignment — marks a notable shift in New Delhi's framing, while China's assumption of the BRICS chair in 2027 gives Beijing a structural platform to shape the bloc's agenda alongside India over the coming year.
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