Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday morning to attend the 18th BRICS Summit.He is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.Xi left Beijing on Saturday morning to attend the BRICS Summit in New Delhi at the invitation of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.His entourage includes close associate Cai Qi, who is a member of the high-powered Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Wang Yi, Foreign Minister and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the news report said.As the current chair of the influential grouping, India will host the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13 in New Delhi.BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025.Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year.India is a BRICS founding member and has previously held its chairship three times, in 2012, 2016 and 2021.India assumed its fourth BRICS chairmanship on January 1 this year. The year 2026 also marks a milestone as BRICS completes 20 years since its establishment.After this summit, China will take over the BRICS rotating chair.President Xi’s 1st visit to India in 7 yearsSeptember 12, 2026 7:57 amThis is President Xi’s first visit to India in nearly seven years. Asked how China viewed the Modi-Xi meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here that this will be the third year in a row the two leaders meet, after their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin. “China will work with India to act on the strategic guidance of the two leaders, handle bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, step up communication, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences, and be friends enjoying good-neighbourliness and partners helping each other succeed,” she said.