Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping used the BRICS summit in New Delhi to push for stronger business links and greater mobility, raising a fresh question: is the economic freeze between Asia’s two giants beginning to thaw?
Why the meeting matters
Relations deteriorated sharply after the deadly 2020 border clash. Since then, India tightened scrutiny of Chinese investment, visas and technology exposure while military tensions remained the dominant issue.
What Modi and Xi focused on
At their Delhi talks, the two leaders stressed business connections and people-to-people mobility. Those themes matter because they can translate into more flights, easier visas, investment approvals and fewer commercial restrictions.
Trade never fully stopped
Even through the political freeze, China remained a major supplier of electronics, machinery and industrial inputs used by Indian companies. That created a strange situation: strategic rivalry alongside deep commercial dependence.
What would prove the reset is real?
The real test will be concrete policy. Watch for direct-flight restoration, faster business visas, more predictable investment decisions and fewer barriers for companies operating across both markets.
Bottom line
The Modi-Xi meeting does not mean relations are normal again. But if mobility and business restrictions begin to ease, BRICS may be remembered as the moment the economic thaw became visible.
Source: Reuters
