India’s BRICS presidency faces test as Xi and Putin prepare to attend summit
Narendra Modi will host the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi as India balances engagement with China and Russia against its continuing ties with the United States.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to attend. The meeting comes as India’s year-long presidency of the grouping draws to a close.
Xi’s visit would be his first to India since 2019. Modi recently met both Xi and Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and is due to meet them again in New Delhi.
India’s engagement with BRICS and the SCO reflects its effort to preserve strategic autonomy while maintaining relationships with major powers, Ashok Kantha, a former Indian ambassador to China, told Deutsche Welle. The approach is being tested by continuing tensions with Beijing, despite a 2024 border patrol agreement that ended a four-year military standoff.
The border remains heavily militarised, while disputes over trade, investment and security persist. The summit may offer an indication of whether relations can stabilise, but analysts cited by Deutsche Welle cautioned against treating the meeting as a diplomatic reset.
India is also seeking greater weight for developing countries in institutions including the United Nations, IMF and World Bank. It supports easier cross-border payments and wider use of national currencies in trade, while avoiding advocacy of a common BRICS currency or an effort to replace the US dollar.
Consensus within BRICS could prove difficult. The grouping has expanded from five to 11 members, and its governments hold differing positions on relations with the US and conflicts including those in the Middle East and Ukraine. Foreign ministers recently failed to agree on a joint statement on the Middle East crisis, leading India to issue a unilateral chair’s statement.
The summit will therefore test whether New Delhi can advance its priorities without allowing BRICS to become a China-led, anti-Western platform. India continues to seek stronger economic and strategic ties with the US while maintaining its relationships with Russia and China.
