Modi’s efforts to woo US, China hit stalemate after frictions with Trump, Xi: report

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to engage with the US and China have reached a stalemate, which exposes limitations to India’s powers on the global stage, The New York Times reported.

Modi’s first attempt came in 2014 through a high-level engagement with China came. The Indian premier rolled out the red carpet for China’s President Xi Jinping in his home town, organising an intimate riverside dinner in Ahmedabad.

The meeting at the time focused on economic cooperation, with India seeking Chinese funding for an overhaul of its dilapidated railways and cooperation in nuclear energy.

However, the talks were overshadowed by a stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops along their shared border. “The flare-up in 2014 was the first of several acts of aggression that would ultimately leave Mr Modi embarrassed, his economy squeezed by the need to keep tens of thousands of Indian troops on a war footing high in the Himalayas for several years,” The New York Times said.

Subsequently, Modi steered towards the US direction. “Mr Modi developed such a bonhomie with US President Donald Trump in his first term that he broke with protocol to campaign for a second term for him at a stadium-packed event in Houston,” the outlet said, adding that the increasing alignment grew further after “the Biden administration looked past that partisan play to continue expanding relations with India, a bulwark against China”.

During a joint session of Congress last year, Modi remarked, “AI stands for ‘America and India’”, the report added.

India’s relations with the US have seemingly faltered during Trump’s second term. Terming the recent trade tensions a “very public humiliation” of Modi, the outlet said that India was singled out for a whopping 50 per cent tariff, with the US citing India’s continued imports of Russian oil and calling India’s economy “dead”.

Trump also “stirred rancour among Indians” by giving Pakistan’s leadership an “equal footing” as he tried to settle the military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours earlier this year, the outlet said.

In June, Trump hosted Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at the White House in the weeks following the military confrontation between India and Pakistan. This prompted a private diplomatic protest from India in a warning to Washington about risks to their bilateral ties while New Delhi is recalibrating relations with China as a hedge.

“All that has plunged India into a moment of soul-searching, exposing limitations to its power on the world stage despite its gargantuan size and growing economy,” The New York Times stated. The outlet also highlighted Modi’s acknowledgement this week that he might pay a “personal political price” for the trade dispute with the US.

Amid heightened tensions with the US, India has made moves indicating “increased activity toward warming ties with Beijing again”, the outlet said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Friday welcomed Modi’s plan to visit China for the first time in seven years to participate in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. Last month, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar made his first visit to Beijing since a deadly 2020 border clash between Indian and Chinese troops.

The outlet suggested that relations with China “remain strained” due to border disputes and China’s support for Pakistan during the recent military escalation, adding: “China, for its part, has been wary of New Delhi’s efforts to create a manufacturing alternative to China.”

It further noted Modi’s current engagement with Russia, saying, “Russia’s steadfastness as a partner is being talked up by officials in India. Mr Modi’s national security adviser was in Moscow this week to finalise details of a trip by Mr Putin to New Delhi.”

India’s aim to rise as an economic and diplomatic power “appears deflated by the sudden uncertainty”, according to The New York Times.

It said, “Stuck between two superpowers that have shown no hesitation to put India down in moments of friction, there is a growing sense among Indian officials and experts that the country will have to firmly return to its long-tested doctrine of ‘strategic autonomy’.”

This means that India was “on its own” and must “make do with a patchwork of contradictory and piecemeal ties, and avoid overcommitting to alliances”.

The outlet quoted Nirupama Rao, a former Indian ambassador to Beijing and Washington, who said that Trump’s punishing moves had upended “the strategic logic of a very consequential partnership” that had been carefully nurtured over more than two decades. “There will be ‘very pragmatic strategic recalibrations’ by New Delhi to protect its interests,” she said.

India’s growing economy allows its leaders breathing room, but it is still a moment of “deep introspection” for the country, Rao said, adding: “We have to draw our lessons from that and really focus on the national priorities and what we need to do to become strong and more influential.”