New Delhi | September 16, 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited New Delhi on September 12 and 13, 2026, for the 18th BRICS Summit, his first trip to India since 2019. The visit marked a further improvement in India China relations following years of tension after the June 2020 Galwan Valley clash, in which 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers were killed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi agreed that India and China should approach their relationship from a “strategic and long term perspective” and ensure that “differences should not become disputes.” Modi said relations must be guided by “mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.” Xi described the countries as “partners, not rivals” and called for cooperation on trade, travel and international affairs.
No boundary settlement, military withdrawal agreement or major economic deal was announced. India stressed that peace along the disputed border remained essential for improving relations. The leaders also discussed India’s growing trade imbalance with China. Official figures show bilateral merchandise trade reached $151.10 billion in the 2025 to 2026 financial year, including Indian exports of $19.47 billion and imports of $131.63 billion. India’s deficit reached a record $112.16 billion, according to the Embassy of India in Beijing.
Tibet became the most sensitive issue surrounding the visit. China’s official account claimed Modi said India’s positions on Tibet and Taiwan “remain unchanged” and that India “will not allow any force to engage in anti China activities on its territory.” India’s own statement did not include this language. When questioned, the Indian government neither clearly endorsed nor directly denied Beijing’s version, saying both countries should respect each other’s core concerns.
Tibet was not mentioned in the 140 paragraph BRICS New Delhi Declaration. The document instead concentrated on international conflicts, terrorism, United Nations reform, artificial intelligence, trade, public health, energy and climate cooperation. The full text is available from India’s Press Information Bureau.
Tibetan groups organised demonstrations in Delhi before and during Xi’s visit. On September 11, Students for a Free Tibet activists displayed a Tibetan flag and banners near the summit venue, including messages accusing Xi of genocide and environmental destruction. The Tibetan Youth Congress also led a protest in Majnu ka Tila, where demonstrators raised concerns about religious repression, Tibetan language education, political prisoners and Chinese control over rivers originating on the Tibetan Plateau.
On September 12, approximately 64 Tibetan Youth Congress activists attempted to march towards Bharat Mandapam but were stopped and detained. Tibetan organisations reported that around 70 activists, organisers and journalists were placed under preventive custody during the summit. Three protesters who displayed banners and a Tibetan flag near the venue were reportedly held for about 37 hours. All were released by September 14 without criminal charges, according to Tibetan Review.
India has hosted the Dalai Lama and Tibetan refugees since the failed Lhasa uprising of 1959. A 2019 census cited by India’s Home Ministry recorded 73,404 Tibetan refugees, including 21,324 in Karnataka and 14,952 in Himachal Pradesh. Other government estimates place the wider Tibetan population in India at approximately 110,000 people across 45 settlements and other locations.
India recognises Tibet as part of China but permits the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration to operate from Dharamshala. The Dalai Lama seeks genuine autonomy and cultural protection within China rather than complete independence. Beijing nevertheless calls him a separatist, and no formal talks between his representatives and Chinese officials have occurred since 2010.
The summit therefore produced two contrasting outcomes. Modi and Xi presented their meeting as another step towards stable relations, while Tibetan demonstrators argued that their rights were being pushed aside. The absence of Tibet from the BRICS declaration, the difference between the Indian and Chinese accounts of the bilateral talks and the detention of protesters showed that Tibet remains one of the most sensitive unresolved questions in India China relations.
