Xi Jinping not coming to India for BRICS Summit 2026? China refuses to confirm, says ‘no information to provide’

China refused to confirm President Xi Jinping's visit to India for the upcoming BRICS Summit 2026. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, according to local media, on Thursday, “Regarding the question you raised, I currently have no information to provide.”

The statement posted by Chinese state media Global Times on X came as reports suggested that Xi is widely expected to be in Delhi this weekend for the annual BRICS summit.

Beijing has yet to confirm his visit, and there is no word on whether he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a meeting that will be crucial to setting the future direction of bilateral ties as New Delhi and Beijing seek to cautiously rebuild ties following the prolonged tensions triggered by the 2020 Galwan clashes.

Xi Jinping's visit is one of the most closely watched events ahead of BRICS, which India is hosting in New Delhi on September 12-13. If confirmed, it will be Xi's first visit to India since Indo-Sino ties took a hit following the 2020 Ladakh clash.

Former BRICS Sherpa and Indian diplomat Sanjay Bhattacharyya said it is true that the Chinese have not formally confirmed the presence of Xi Jinping.

Bhattacharyya, however, said these occasions, where we have multilateral gatherings, are also opportunities for bilateral interaction.

“India and China, as you know, are two great civilizational powers. We are both emerging economies and powers today. We have had differences between India and China, but I do expect that there will be an understanding in which we shall be able to cooperate on various issues, particularly on regional and multilateral issues,” Bhattacharyya told news agency ANI.

"We do expect that there will be a sense of competition in the economic area, but there will also be cooperation because the opportunities for the two sides to work together are enormous...," Bhattacharyya added.

India-China ties

India and China fought a brief war in 1962, setting the backdrop for a wary relationship since then. The ties soured after a 2020 border skirmish killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

After rounds of border talks and diplomacy, the relation between the two nations has improved in recent years, especially since PM Modi visited China last year and as both nations grapple with volatile relationships with the US.

In March, India eased some of the restrictions on Chinese investment that it imposed following the 2020 border clashes, focusing on electronics, capital goods and solar cell sectors. It is also considering faster approvals for joint ventures between Indian and Chinese firms in some industries.

India and China also decided to restart direct air services, and New Delhi eased visa procedures for Chinese business professionals.

China's foreign ministry told Reuters that President Xi and PM Modi, who briefly met at a regional forum in Kyrgyzstan, think the two countries are "partners, not competitors, and they represent opportunities, not threats, for each other’s development".

'Trust deficit'

On Xi's anticipated visit to India, Lin Minwang, a South Asia expert with Shanghai's Fudan University and former diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, told Reuters that any dramatic progress was unlikely.

"China certainly wants to improve ties, but we are waiting to see to what extent India is actually willing to improve them," Minwang was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Harsh Pant, vice president at New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation think tank, said the "trust deficit" between the countries was high.

He added, "China has economic heft, and there is a good opportunity to use that and emerge as a reliable partner, especially when both nations are impacted by America's trade policies."