BRICS Comes to Delhi as India and China Test a New Era of Strategic Cooperation

The BRICS summit brings Xi Jinping to India for the first time in seven years, and tests whether an expanded bloc can convert size into influence.

NEW DELHI — The BRICS summit opening in New Delhi this weekend will test whether an expanded bloc representing nearly half the world’s population can translate its growing weight into greater geopolitical influence.

At the center of that test is the relationship between Asia’s two largest powers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is traveling to India for the first time in seven years, with preparations underway for a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The encounter would mark another step in the gradual thaw following years of heightened tensions along their disputed Himalayan border.

The September 12 to 13 BRICS summit brings together the bloc’s 11 members, including China, India, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its expansion has increased BRICS’ global reach, but also made consensus more difficult.

India and China Move Toward “Competitive Coexistence”

Relations between India and China deteriorated sharply after deadly border clashes in 2020. Since then, tensions have eased, direct flights have resumed and commercial ties remain substantial.

Bilateral trade reached a record $155 billion last year, according to the Financial Times, with trade rising another 23 percent in the first seven months of 2026.

The relationship, however, is not becoming an alliance.

A more accurate description may be competitive coexistence: reducing the risk of confrontation while continuing to compete economically and strategically.

For India, that creates a delicate challenge. New Delhi wants BRICS to become more influential, but not in a way that allows the grouping to become synonymous with a China-led international order.

India’s Strategic Autonomy on Display

That balancing act is central to Indian foreign policy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Modi in New Delhi ahead of the summit, with discussions covering energy, defense, trade and wider geopolitical issues.

India has maintained close ties with Moscow while also deepening relations with the United States, Europe and fellow members of the Quad.

Rather than choosing a geopolitical camp, New Delhi has emphasized strategic autonomy, maintaining relationships across competing centers of power while preserving its own freedom of action.

That approach also helps explain why India has resisted efforts to turn BRICS into an explicitly anti-Western bloc.

A Test of BRICS Unity

The same diversity that gives BRICS greater global reach also creates its biggest constraint.

Members do not share a common security framework, political ideology or foreign policy. China has favored a broader political role for the grouping, while India and Brazil have generally emphasized economic cooperation and reform of international institutions.

The BRICS summit also comes amid major geopolitical tensions involving members such as Iran and Russia, increasing the difficulty of producing meaningful consensus.

Delhi will therefore test whether BRICS can remain effective as its membership becomes larger and more politically diverse.

Global Finance May Offer Common Ground

One area where members align more clearly is global economic governance.

BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors have called for greater representation for emerging economies in institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.

They have also backed efforts to improve cross-border payment systems and reduce transaction costs. Reuters reports that greater interoperability between central bank digital currencies could be discussed in Delhi.

For now, that agenda is considerably more realistic than proposals for a common BRICS currency.

The focus appears less on replacing the dollar outright than on creating additional financial options for trade and investment while increasing the influence of emerging economies within the global system.

Why the BRICS Summit Matters Beyond Delhi

BRICS may ultimately matter even if it never becomes a unified geopolitical alliance.

Its growing relevance reflects a world in which many governments are increasingly reluctant to align permanently with a single power center.

India is perhaps the clearest example: it can participate in the Quad, maintain close relations with Russia, compete with China and simultaneously advocate greater influence for developing economies within global institutions.

That model is becoming increasingly familiar across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

The deeper question in Delhi is therefore not whether BRICS members agree on everything.

It is whether they can cooperate enough to reshape parts of the international system despite their differences.

The Xi-Modi meeting will be watched closely for signs of progress between two longstanding rivals. But the larger test is whether BRICS can convert its expanding size into lasting influence over the future of global governance.