Xi urges BRICS peace role in Middle East, courts Modi on India visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to New Delhi, meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a surprise diplomatic overture that also carried a call for the BRICS grouping to assume a peace‑building role in the Middle East. The encounter marked Xi’s first official visit to India in seven years and unfolded on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, underscoring a sudden shift from previous high‑level frostiness. Both leaders appeared together on the event’s fringe, signaling a willingness to reset ties.

The meeting was framed as a step toward ‘steady progress’ in bilateral relations, a phrasing echoed by The Hindu and reinforced by Bloomberg’s note that the talks took place on BRICS sidelines. Modi emphasized that peace along the contested border is essential for any forward movement, a point highlighted by CNBC. The joint narrative suggests that the broader BRICS context and the desire to ease long‑standing frontier disputes motivated the leaders’ convergence.

Details on how the bloc might intervene, or any concrete steps on the India‑China border, remain absent from the current stories.