Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for BRICS leaders on Saturday night, with people familiar with the matter attributing his absence to exhaustion and the time difference. Xi had arrived in Delhi earlier that afternoon and attended the BRICS Summit as well as a bilateral meeting with PM Modi. His absence was among those of some leaders who did not attend the dinner.

According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, Xi was tired after a long flight and a packed day of diplomatic engagements. The Chinese president continued with his scheduled activities after travelling to India and participated in key summit discussions. The two-day BRICS Summit brought together leaders of the 11 member countries and 10 partner countries, along with representatives of international organisations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other BRICS leaders attended the dinner hosted by PM Modi. Union ministers and chief ministers from several states were also present at the event. Those attending included Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, along with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and chief ministers Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Fadnavis, Suvendu Adhikari and Himanta Biswa Sarma.

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The Union ministers and chief ministers travelled in two buses from Parliament House to Bharat Mandapam in central Delhi for the dinner. The gathering formed part of the summit's first-day engagements, which included high-level diplomatic meetings and discussions among participating countries. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed was also among the leaders who did not attend the dinner.

Xi's absence came on a day when he held talks with PM Modi on India-China relations. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, the two leaders noted progress in bilateral ties since their previous meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. They also agreed on the importance of taking a strategic and long-term approach to the relationship and stressed that differences between the two countries should not become disputes.

PM Modi also emphasised the importance of three principles — mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest — in guiding India-China relations. The BRICS Summit concludes on Sunday, with PM Modi scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from seven countries. The summit has brought together the expanded BRICS grouping and its partner countries for discussions on issues including international cooperation and global governance.

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