China’s Foreign Ministry Declines to Confirm Xi’s BRICS Delegation Size for India

The refusal to confirm delegation size is itself the signal: Beijing is keeping the commercial dimension of the trip deliberately opaque while the political one is still being negotiated. That matters most for Indian and Chinese business constituencies eyeing the BRICS Business Forum, since a large contingent would signal a thaw beyond ceremonial summitry. Whether the delegation details, once released, match the reported scale is the open question — and the clearest near-term read on how far both sides are willing to go.