Modi, Xi to Hold Talks at BRICS After India-China Thaw — SkimNews
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- Modi and Xi are set to hold talks on Sept 12 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, marking Xi's first visit to India in seven years.
- The 2020 Galwan Valley clash in the western Himalayas killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers in hand-to-hand combat — the first deadly military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours since 1975, fought over a roughly 3,800km largely undemarcated border.
- Under an October 2024 disengagement pact, both sides pulled back troops from five contested locations, with the remaining two locations fulfilled by December that year.
- Trade ties have rebounded sharply: China was India's largest import source in fiscal year 2025/2026 at US$132 billion, including more than 100 products deemed critical to Indian factories; New Delhi has resumed direct flights and eased curbs on Chinese equipment purchases.
- Beijing's role in the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict — where Pakistan relied on Chinese-made fighter jets and missiles during four days of fighting — continues to complicate the reset, though China was not directly involved in the combat.
- Tensions linger on multiple fronts: India remains wary of Chinese investment in finance, defence, and telecom over national security concerns; industry executives report persistent visa delays and bottlenecks in procuring Chinese equipment; and territorial disputes flare over Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing calls Zangnan and claims as part of southern Tibet.
Why it matters: A handshake at BRICS would formalize a fragile detente built on selective economic pragmatism — US$132 billion in Chinese imports now flow into Indian factories, and Beijing's aircraft and missiles in Pakistani hands during last year's four-day India-Pakistan war show the limits of that pragmatism. New Delhi is rebuilding commercial links while still blocking Chinese capital from finance, defence, and telecom, and both sides continue to hold substantial military deployments along the disputed frontier.
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