Expert Commentary: BRICS Summit and Modi-Xi bilateral meeting

The LAC disengagement agreement and the Modi-Xi meeting at the BRICS summit could be the start of an important chapter in India-China relations. After years of tensions, this marks a rare moment of optimism for both sides, with broader implications for regional stability, economic cooperation, and global governance.
The eventual success of this breakthrough agreement will largely depend on how India and China manage their strategic interests in the future. It’s an important step towards normalcy but wider issues still remain unresolved and will need continued dialogue and diplomacy between the two Asian heavyweights.
As India asserts its leadership in the Global South while balancing its relationships with the West, China, and Russia, the upcoming bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi will be pivotal. It will offer key insights into how both leaders envision the path to normalizing ties.
A less contentious relationship would most significantly benefit their economic ties, providing opportunities for mutual growth.
India's business sector could benefit from deeper engagement with Chinese markets, helping correct the persistent trade imbalance. 
The BRICS platform is also overall a crucial venue for India to engage in multi-aligned diplomacy. India has balanced its ties with Russia—despite Western opposition due to the Ukraine conflict—while simultaneously strengthening its strategic partnership with the United States. 
An improved relationship between India and China could give new momentum to BRICS, especially in this increasingly polarized geopolitical environment. However, India will be cautious to ensure that BRICS does not evolve into an anti-Western bloc, but rather maintains its own identity. For BRICS member countries, navigating their differences and divergences and working together toward practical and tangible outcomes would be important to lend more weight to the platform.
For India, maintaining its non-aligned stance while leveraging its influence within BRICS will be critical to ensuring it remains true to its ambitions of being a global power, and being recognized as such, with strong ties to all major regions.
Western countries would be wise to pay closer attention to developments within BRICS. The bloc’s expansion plans and the growing closeness between China and Russia present both challenges and opportunities for Western diplomacy.

(Farwa Aamer, Director of South Asia Initiatives at Asia Society Policy Institute, New York)