Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin both likely to attend BRICS Summit in Delhi in Sept

BRICS Summit in September: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to attend the BRICS leaders' summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. 

According to a report in The Indian Express that cited sources, the Chinese side has informed New Delhi that their leaders are likely to travel for the meeting. Meanwhile, the Russian side had already confirmed Putin’s participation, along with Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov. 

India, as the BRICS chair, will host the annual summit in September. While the venue has not been officially announced, Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi is the likely choice, sources added.

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Xi's participation is notable as it would be his first visit to India since October 2019, when he attended the second informal summit of India-China leaders in Mamallapuram near Chennai. Bilateral ties between India and China declined after the border standoff that began in April-May 2020.

Sources told the daily that the process of stabilising ties began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024. At that meeting, both sides agreed to complete troop disengagement at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Over the past year and a half, progress has been made through direct flights, visa resumptions, easing of curbs on Chinese firms, and the revival of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

However, more than 50,000 troops remain deployed along the LAC, and de-escalation and de-induction processes have not yet been completed. Sources described Xi's possible visit as the most anticipated among the expected attendees at the summit.

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According to Russian news agency, TASS, Ushakov also mentioned a planned bilateral meeting between Putin and Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. Putin will also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31 and September 1, with Modi likely to participate as well.

The BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting held in New Delhi last week reportedly discussed the agenda for the leaders' summit, agreeing on a range of issues. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was absent due to a meeting between Xi and US President Donald Trump in Beijing. China's Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, attended on Wang's behalf.

The Indian government wants the BRICS members, divided over the war in West Asia, to find common ground before the summit. With no consensus on diplomatic language regarding the conflict at last week's meeting, India issued a chair statement balancing differences between Iran and the UAE, both BRICS members.

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BRICS originally included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025. The grouping now represents 11 major emerging economies, accounting for around 49.5 per cent of the global population, 40 per cent of global GDP, and 26 per cent of global trade.