PM Modi, Xi Jinping To Hold Bilateral Meeting On Day 1 Of BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral meeting on Saturday. China’s Foreign Ministry is likely to make an announcement soon.

For years, India-China ties have been marked by a contradiction. While the two Asian powers need each other, mutual trust remains limited. The BRICS Summit in New Delhi could provide Modi and Xi an opportunity to assess whether the relationship can move beyond the cautious thaw that began after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.

The national capital has been decked up with posters and illuminated installations as India prepares to host the BRICS Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam on September 12 and 13.

PM Modi will host the high-profile summit, which will bring together heads of state,

foreign delegates, heads of international organisations and other key dignitaries from member states, partner countries and outreach invitees.

The grouping has evolved significantly since its origins as BRIC, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China. The four countries held their first Foreign Ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2006, followed by the inaugural BRIC summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009.

The bloc expanded to BRICS following South Africa’s admission in 2011 and later underwent a major expansion, welcoming Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as full members in January 2024, followed by Indonesia in January 2025.

Today, with 11 full member states alongside an expanding array of partner nations, the alliance commands significant global economic and diplomatic influence.

The summit will also see the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking his second visit to India in under a year following the annual bilateral summit in New Delhi in December 2025. PM Modi’s renewed the invitation to Putin in person when the two leaders met at the SCO summit in Bishkek on August 31.