New Delhi, 10 September—Visiting India after for the first time in nearly seven years, Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12.
The meeting will be the first face-to-face interaction between the two leaders since the last year’s SCO meeting and is expected to be closely watched for its bearing on the efforts to stabilise India-China relations.
The bilateral meeting assumes importance in the backdrop of ongoing military conflict between the US and Iran and fears of formation of a G-2 group or G-3 group which will overlord over the world affairs, G-2 means the US and China and China, US and Russia forming the G-3 group. If this happens, then India will be cornered and that is why improving understanding with Xi and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin is very important to protect India’s vital interests, knowledgeable experts and seasoned observers said.
Xi will arrive in New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, being hosted by India on September 12 and 13. His visit will be the first to India in seven years.
Sources said the Modi-Xi talks were likely to cover the overall state of bilateral relations, including the situation along the Line of Actual Control, trade and economic ties. The two countries have made efforts over the past two years to ease tensions along the border. The proposed meeting assumes significance as New Delhi and Beijing seek to move beyond the tensions triggered by the 2020 border clashes while continuing to address outstanding differences.
Trade and investment are also expected to figure in the discussions. Indian officials have been examining concerns relating to market access, investment restrictions and the import of high-technology items from China ahead of the BRICS summit.
The BRICS Summit, to be organised at Bharat Mandapam, is expected to bring together leaders of the expanded 11-member grouping for discussions on trade, investment, technology, energy security, global governance and other international and regional issues.
Meanwhile it is learnt that India is pushing to link central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) across BRICS nations for cross-border payments at a summit later this week, despite political and technical hurdles that could limit progress, two sources familiar with the discussions said.
India presiding over BRICS this year and leaders of the bloc set to meet on September 12 to 13, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed linking the countries’ official digital currencies to facilitate cross-border trade, is expected to come up for discussion.
The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The proposal to link CBDCs would be a part of the agenda for the leaders’ meeting, the sources said, although the limited adoption of digital currencies globally could complicate implementation sources said declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue saying they are not authorised to speak to media.
India’s proposal will build on the 2025 declaration at the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, which pushed for interoperability between members’ payment systems to make cross-border transactions more efficient.
Any move towards linking CBDCs, however, is likely to face significant challenges. Previous discussions within BRICS on creating shared payment mechanisms have made little headway, underscoring the difficulties of integrating financial infrastructure across a diverse group of countries.
Strained relations between countries, such as Iran and the UAE, will remain a sticking point, with the UAE having cut financial ties with Iran, one of the two sources said.
Though India has till now been reluctant to deepen financial connectivity with China, but now view is changing in the wake of the US blackmail. Top level source said that such arrangements would require deeper trust between the neighbours but ground situation changing fast, there is a rethink in the South Block. India had stalled Alipay’s proposal to link with the country’s instant payments system for cross-border transactions over national security concerns due to its Chinese links.
Currency-swap arrangements would also be needed to help manage trade imbalances before any CBDC linkage could become operational, the source added.
BRICS nations have previously explored alternatives to dollar-based payments, including a proposal by Brazil for a common currency for the group, though the plan never advanced. U.S. President Donald Trump had warned the bloc against such a move by threatening to impose high tariffs.
As India does not want to annoy Trump Administration, Delhi has no interest in replacing the dollar. Therefore, linking official digital currencies is aimed at making cross-border payments easier and faster.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
