India-China relations: PM Modi, President Xi to hold bilateral meet at BRICS

India-China relations: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia, their first meeting since the 2020 Galwan confrontation. The meeting would highlight the improvement in India-China relations following a consensus on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control, which had encountered numerous challenges in recent years.

In the midst of anticipation over recovering ties, Misri confirmed that the bilateral was on.  "I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting held between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit," he said.

Since the 2020 Galwan clash, the two leaders have only held one formal meeting. That took place on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2023. There was also a brief informal meeting at the G20 conference in Bali, Indonesia. 

Both leaders are currently in Kazan, Russia, where they are joined by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a summit.

The breakthrough in the patrolling agreement comes four years after the Galwan Valley clash and represents a step towards de-escalation in a region where both countries have stationed tens of thousands of troops. The agreement, which includes a return to the pre-2020 system, is also intended to stabilise the situation and serve as a confidence-building step between New Delhi and Beijing.