Chinese President Xi Jinping has left Beijing for New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS summit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two-day meeting of the 11-nation bloc is expected to focus on conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, global trade turbulence and energy security. Xi’s first visit to India since 2019 is also being closely watched as a significant step in the cautious improvement of ties after the deadly 2020 military clash along their disputed Tibetan border. Although flights, visas and high-level contacts have resumed, the territorial dispute remains unresolved, with both countries maintaining heavy military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) frontier. Xi is due to meet Modi face to face, while mistrust, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry continue to complicate relations. The summit also includes Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, as energy security and freedom of navigation remain prominent concerns. BRICS was created in 2009 to give major emerging economies greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers.