Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi to attend the BRICS Summit, China-India bilateral relations are facing a test

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday (September 12) to attend the BRICS summit with the leaders of India, Russia and Iran. War, trade and energy are testing this divided bloc.

Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, coupled with global trade turmoil and energy security, will dominate the two-day meeting of the 11-nation bloc.

Xi Jinping's trip has also attracted much attention because it is his first visit to India since 2019. It's the biggest step yet in a cautious warmer between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

Xi Jinping received a red carpet reception and was greeted by honor guard soldiers and traditional dancers in colorful clothes.

His visit comes six years after the deadly military conflict between the two countries in 2020 on the disputed Tibetan border. Since then, bilateral relations have gradually improved with the resumption of flights, visas and high-level exchanges.

Beijing said on Friday that China is willing to strengthen communication, deepen cooperation and properly handle differences with India.

However, the fundamental territorial dispute has not yet been resolved, and the two sides still maintain heavy military deployment on the high-altitude border of about 3,500 kilometers along the Tibet line.

Gains and Conflicts between China and India

Xi Jinping is scheduled to hold face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New Delhi.

Pradeep Taneja, an expert on China-India issues at the University of Melbourne, said that what both sides are seeking on the border issue is "early substantive gains." He said that you cannot increase troops on the border and at the same time say that cultural and economic relations should continue to be maintained.

Deep mistrust remains: disputed Himalayan borders, a widening trade deficit and strategic competition continue to complicate relations.

Dozens of Tibetans protested in New Delhi on Friday. The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader in exile, has lived in India since 1959.

The Expansion and Restrictions of the BRICS Group

The BRICS Summit was established in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies to seek to expand their influence in the international situation dominated by the West.

Modi told the leaders attending the meeting that the BRICS countries account for 50% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP, and more than a quarter of global trade.

In addition to Iran, BRICS members also include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - these countries have very different stances on the war against Iran launched by the United States and Israel in February this year.

When the BRICS foreign ministers met in New Delhi in May this year, they failed to reach an agreement on the relevant joint statement.

Harsh V. Pant, an expert at the Observer Research Foundation in India, said that the Gulf conflict will be the core fault line of this BRICS summit. He said that the expansion of the BRIC, which until last year was regarded as an achievement, now seems to be a major constraint for the BRIC.