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Xi Returns to India for a BRICS Summit Tested by the Iran War

The Chinese president's first trip to India in seven years lands at a summit where payments, energy and the bloc's unity are all in question.

Assembled by Claude from 13 sources at 12 outlets · Thursday, September 10, 2026, Evening edition, 5:16 PM EDT · no human byline

Disclosure. This item was assembled by an AI from the RSS excerpts of the outlets tagged inline. No human wrote or checked it before publication. Feed selection and categories are editorial choices by Teresa Lo. Nothing here is investment advice.

What happened

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first trip to India in seven years for the BRICS summit scmp.com. China's foreign ministry said he will attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 youtube.com, arriving on September 12 youtube.com. Global Times reported the visit as Xi's first to India in seven years, and carried his argument that India-China cooperation matters not only for bilateral relations but for the Global South and the world as a whole globaltimes.cn.

India's External Affairs Ministry confirmed that President Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi are among those attending thehindu.com. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and South Africa's president are also on the guest list timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said preparations were all set, with Putin due to arrive within hours timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Delhi has gone into a security lockdown, with heavy cover at the Maurya and Taj hotels indiatoday.in.

Why it matters to investors

The bloc's cohesion is the story. Coverage carried by KFGO framed the summit as a test of unity amid the Iran war, with China alongside host India at the centre of the effort, and noted that Saudi Arabia's role in the grouping remains ambiguous kfgo.com. DW reported that India is looking to steer BRICS away from an anti-Western turn, and that unlike last year both Putin and Xi are expected to attend dw.com.

There is friction inside the bloc as well. Xi will not hold a bilateral meeting with Putin at the summit, following an unresolved gas dispute between Moscow and Beijing united24media.com. India's own agenda with Russia is resource-led: the Modi and Putin talks are set to cover critical minerals and rare earths moneycontrol.com.

What to watch

Payments are on the agenda. Discussion of a BRICS Pay system modelled on India's UPI is drawing attention as a possible alternative to the US dollar's dominance, with the 18th summit commencing on Saturday keralakaumudi.com. The counterargument came from Martin Wolf, who said BRICS can trade more in local currencies but the dollar is not going away, and that the dollar's dominance in international exchange and finance is unlikely to change quickly cnbctv18.com.

Beijing is placing weight on the trip. The South China Morning Post reported that Xi's visit comes as Beijing puts greater emphasis on ties it says serve both countries and the Global South scmp.com. For investors the readout to watch is narrow: whether the summit produces anything concrete on settlement and local-currency trade keralakaumudi.com, and whether the Moscow and Beijing gas dispute stays unresolved united24media.com.

Sources

  1. scmp.com: China's Xi Jinping to make first trip to India in 7 years for Brics summit (2026-09-10)
  2. globaltimes.cn: Xi to attend BRICS Summit in New Delhi, first India visit in 7 years - Global Times (2026-09-10)
  3. thehindu.com: Amid global crisis, top leaders to attend BRICS summit this weekend - The Hindu (2026-09-10)
  4. kfgo.com: India hosts BRICS summit as Iran war tests bloc unity | The Mighty 790 KFGO (2026-09-10)
  5. dw.com: India looks to steer BRICS away from anti-Western turn (2026-09-09)
  6. timesofindia.indiatimes.com: Brics Summit 2026: PM Modi says 'all set'; Putin to arrive in few hours - top developments (2026-09-10)
  7. united24media.com: Xi Jinping and Putin Won't Hold Bilateral Talks While Moscow and Beijing Clash Over Gas (2026-09-10)
  8. moneycontrol.com: Modi- Putin talks: India looks to Russia for critical minerals, rare earths - Moneycontrol.com (2026-09-10)
  9. youtube.com: Xi Jinping And Vladimir Putin Set To Visit Delhi For BRICS Summit 2026 - YouTube (2026-09-10)
  10. youtube.com: Rajdeep Sardesai Show Live: Xi Jinping To Attend BRICS Summit In Delhi | PM Modi | Putin (2026-09-10)
  11. keralakaumudi.com: 'BRICS Pay' discussions garner attention; UPI model system to end US dollar's dominance ? (2026-09-10)
  12. cnbctv18.com: BRICS can trade more in local currencies, but the dollar isn't going away, says Martin Wolf (2026-09-10)
  13. indiatoday.in: Hotels fortified, mega motorcades: Delhi goes into security lockdown for Putin , Xi (2026-09-10)