Diplomacy tightrope, economic heft test await India at BRICS summit

Source: Livemint | Original Published At: 2026-09-10 00:45:14 UTC

Key Points

• India is preparing to host the BRICS summit in New Delhi, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to participate.
• The summit agenda is expected to focus on local-currency cross-border settlement, payment connectivity, supply-chain cooperation, micro, small and medium enterprises, digital trade, and energy security.
• India has not endorsed the creation of a BRICS currency but supports promoting trade settlement in local currencies to increase trade flows.
• The summit may provide an opportunity for India and China to address bilateral issues such as trade imbalance, market access, visa restrictions, and investment.
• India’s goods trade deficit with China reached $112 billion in financial year 2026, widening from about $99 billion in the previous fiscal year.
• The BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi in May did not produce a joint statement due to divisions over the West Asia conflict, leading India to issue a Chair’s statement and outcome document instead.
• India aims to balance its ties with China, Russia, the wider Global South, and Western expectations during the summit.