There are very few incidents in the Asian geopolitical arena that draws attention not only domestically but also internationally. The Chinese president Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit India for the 18th BRICS leaders’ summit in New Delhi. The visit comes more than six years since his previous visit. The visit comes as India is hosting the meeting during its 2026 BRICS chairmanship. The meeting, which is expected to take place in the second half of 2026, would be a significant diplomatic turning point, as both are painstakingly mending their relationship after the Galwan Conflict in 2020. However, to interpret this much-anticipated visit just as a bilateral thaw would be a mistake to a deeper and troubling story. The visit is much more established on the grounds of great power change for China rather than any real settlement of India-China tensions.
