Ten days from Delhi to Washington: What Xi's BRICS-to-White-House sprint means for India

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit the US for two days from September 23 to 25. Xi will arrive in the US on Wednesday (September 23) at Joint Base Andrews, where President Trump will personally welcome him. His visit comes 10 days after India's visit for the 18th BRICS Summit 2026, held in New Delhi, where China, Russia, India and other members jointly targeted unilateral tariffs and coercive economic measures.

During the BRICS Summit, the member nations also expressed concern over the ongoing conflicts in West Asia and the growing risks to global stability. But now Xi suddenly moves from the BRICS table to the White House, prompting India to observe the development and the move both nations will take.

For decades, the US and China have approached each other through a lens of strategic rivalry. Issues such as trade wars, technology restrictions, Taiwan, the South China Sea, critical minerals and accusations of economic coercion have all contributed to a tension that neither side has attempted to fundamentally resolve.

Trump's tariff approach was intended to pressure Beijing into making concessions. However, the economic outcome has turned out to be far less straightforward. China's export performance continues to hold strong, with its global trade surplus expected to surpass $1 trillion for a second year running. As a result, the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting is likely to centre not on any breakthrough, but on maintaining what remains a fragile truce in the ongoing trade standoff.

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What Trump-Xi meet for India?

During the two-day visit to India for the BRICS Summit, Xi expressed commitment to resolving the long-standing border dispute between India and China. But now, the Chinese President will be at the dinner table of the White House discussing several agenda items related to economic cooperation. The question that lies ahead is how India sees this talk now.

Basically, New Delhi has long been wary of being treated as a secondary player in the US-China relationship, and a high-profile Xi-Trump summit so soon after the BRICS bonhomie could revive those anxieties. The substance of the Washington talks matters too.

With AI, trade and rare-earth mineral flows on the agenda, any US-China understanding on these fronts could directly affect India, particularly since China controls critical supply chains India depends on, and any shift in US tariff or export-control policy toward Beijing could reshape trade dynamics affecting Indian industry as well.

On the ongoing development, Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader, founder chancellor of Lovely Professional University, told WION, “President Xi Jinping’s movement from BRICS discussions in New Delhi to engagement with the US shows how quickly global relationships are changing. For India, this is a time to stay engaged with all major countries while keeping our national interests at the centre. India should continue to work towards peace and stability with China while also strengthening ties with the United States and other global partners. At the same time, we must focus on trade, technology, education and stronger supply chains to build a more resilient economy. India has an important role to play in a changing global order. We should use our relationships with different countries to create more opportunities for our people and contribute to a stable and balanced world.”

For New Delhi, this raises questions about Xi, whether his India's visit was a genuine reset or a strategic move ahead of Beijing's own Washington outreach, especially as trade and technology tensions between the US and China remain a live issue.