Modi and Xi hold 50-minute New Delhi talks to ease India-China border freeze

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have held a 50-minute bilateral meeting in New Delhi, the first time the Chinese leader has set foot in India in nearly seven years.

The talks, held on Saturday on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, represent the most significant effort to mend relations since a deadly border clash in eastern Ladakh froze diplomatic ties six years ago.

Welcoming the Chinese President, Modi thanked Beijing for its co-operation during India's BRICS presidency, saying the two sides now had "the opportunity to discuss bilateral co-operation".

According to the state news agency Xinhua, Xi responded that China views its relationship with India from a strategic and long-term perspective. As the world's two most populous nations, Xi said, both countries shoulder major responsibilities in a complex international environment and should work together to advance co-operation.

A long-awaited encounter

The meeting follows a prolonged freeze in high-level diplomacy. While Modi and Xi have crossed paths briefly at overseas summits in Kazan and Tianjin, this is Xi's first visit to India since an informal summit in Mamallapuram in 2019.

The path to Saturday's meeting was laid last month in Beijing, where National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to an eight-point consensus on border management. Both sides have been working to normalise relations following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers.

Yet back in India, the diplomatic overtures are being watched with caution. Shashi Tharoor, the chairman of India's parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, warned that New Delhi must not confuse multilateral cooperation with bilateral reality.

Speaking to the Indian Express, Tharoor pointed out that China still holds significant economic leverage over India, particularly by controlling the supply of key industrial inputs like rare earths, tunnel boring machines, and power substations.

"India has every interest in using this platform to say: look, if you make a friendly gesture to us, we're ready to reciprocate," Tharoor said. "But if you're going to be playing hardball with us, we know how to play hardball back."

Reforming the global order

The high-profile meeting took place shortly after BRICS leaders adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026. The joint declaration expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in West Asia, calling for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip.

The member nations also urged restraint to protect civilians and spoke out against deliberate attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities under international safeguards.

Addressing the wider summit, Modi proposed 10 measures to reform global governance. He argued that the Global South must be transformed from a "rule-taker into a rule-shaper," warning that developing nations remain at the frontlines of global crises but are still routinely excluded from the decision-making table.