The 15th annual BRICS summit, hosted in New Delhi, has been marked by the ceremonial reception of Chinese President Xi Jinping, an event widely interpreted as a strategic gesture towards de-escalation in the fraught relationship between Asia’s two most populous nations. Xi’s arrival, complete with an honour guard and cultural displays, followed a period of elevated tension stemming from the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and subsequent border standoffs. While the public optics suggest a diplomatic thaw, the underlying dynamics of geopolitical competition and economic divergence remain significant, complicating any rapid normalization.
The BRICS grouping – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – positions itself as a counterweight to Western-dominated global institutions, advocating for a multi-polar world order. This summit's agenda, focusing on economic cooperation, trade, and the potential expansion of the bloc, provides a platform for its members to project a united front against perceived hegemonic influences. For India and China, the meeting offers a critical, albeit constrained, opportunity for high-level dialogue that has been largely absent since the border confrontations. The symbolic red-carpet welcome, therefore, is less indicative of a wholesale reconciliation and more a recognition of the necessity for engagement within the BRICS framework, despite enduring bilateral friction.
India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has strategically balanced its engagement with the West, particularly the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) alongside the United States, Japan, and Australia, with its commitments to BRICS. This dual-track foreign policy allows Delhi to simultaneously pursue security cooperation with like-minded democracies and maintain economic and political influence within non-Western blocs. The decision to extend a warm reception to Xi, despite the unresolved border disputes and China's continued infrastructure development in disputed territories, reflects this pragmatic approach. It signals an intent to manage, rather than resolve, deep-seated disagreements, prioritizing the broader geopolitical agenda of BRICS and the immediate need for de-escalation.
For China, the BRICS summit serves multiple purposes. It reinforces Beijing’s narrative of a global order transitioning away from singular Western dominance, positioning China as a leader among developing nations. The opportunity for direct engagement with India, regardless of its cordiality, allows China to project an image of regional stability and cooperation, potentially mitigating international criticism regarding its territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea and along the Himalayan border. Furthermore, the summit provides a venue for China to deepen economic ties with other member states, particularly Brazil and South Africa, and to advance initiatives like the New Development Bank (NDB), which offers an alternative to traditional lending institutions.
The emphasis on "thawing relations" must be contextualized within the intricate web of Sino-Indian competition. Beyond the military standoffs, the two nations vie for influence across Asia and Africa, in infrastructure development through initiatives like the Belt and Road (BRI) versus India's various connectivity projects, and in technological dominance. India’s recent efforts to diversify supply chains away from China and attract foreign investment illustrate a broader strategy to reduce economic dependence. Therefore, the red carpet welcome, while significant in its diplomatic signaling, does not erase the strategic competition that defines the bilateral relationship.
The BRICS summit’s ultimate impact on India-China relations will hinge not on ceremonial gestures, but on the substantive outcomes of high-level discussions and the subsequent de-escalation of border tensions. While the optics suggest a move towards reconciliation, the deep structural challenges – including differing territorial claims, economic rivalry, and divergent geopolitical alignments – remain. The Delhi summit, therefore, represents a pragmatic convergence of interests within a multilateral forum, providing a limited avenue for dialogue amidst an overarching landscape of strategic competition. It underscores the complex reality that diplomatic engagement, even between rivals, is often a necessity in navigating a multi-polar world.