Xi Jinping Health Rumors Intensify After Modi Appears Concerned at BRICS Summit

Rumors regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping's health have resurfaced after a video captured Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pausing his opening remarks at the BRICS summit to address a commotion involving the Chinese leader. Modi was seen turning toward Xi and asking his translator, "Is it okay?" Moments later, aides rushed to Xi's side. After a brief exchange, Xi nodded, and Modi resumed his speech.

Beijing has not issued a statement regarding the incident, which occurred during Xi's first visit to India in seven years. Speculation intensified when Xi later skipped the gala dinner hosted by Modi for BRICS leaders. According to India Today, a source suggested Xi was tired and had returned to his hotel to rest.

Online commentary from anti-China activists and commentators quickly emerged, with lawyer Gordon G. Chang stating, "Xi Jinping is not well. This time, China could not hide his condition." Chinese political activist Xie Wanjun, based in the U.S., claimed Xi "walked with difficulty" when boarding his plane after the summit, adding that "All of this suggests that Xi Jinping is already an elderly man, and that his regime is a dying regime."

Xi's health has long been a subject of scrutiny, as information regarding the well-being of Chinese leaders is treated as a highly classified state secret.

The BRICS summit in New Delhi brought together leaders from China, Russia, and India to discuss "inclusive global growth." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the bloc's significance, noting it represents "50 percent of the world's population, 40 percent of global GDP and more than 25 percent of global trade." Russian President Vladimir Putin stated the bloc was working towards a "new, more just, multipolar world order," while Xi remarked that a "world without rules is like an intersection without traffic lights; chaos and disorder are inevitable."

Xi's participation in the summit marked his first visit to India since 2019, a significant development in the cautious improvement of relations between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Ties had been strained following a deadly military clash along their disputed border in 2020, though interactions have since improved.

"Although our two countries are different in many respects, they are fully capable of complementing each other's strengths, supporting one another, achieving mutual success and advancing together," Xi said in a meeting with Modi, as shown in a video released by New Delhi. However, the underlying territorial dispute remains unresolved, with both nations maintaining significant military presence along their border. India's foreign ministry stated that "the two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question."

Xi's visit also drew protests from dozens of Tibetan exiles in New Delhi.