The Times: China is exploiting the US-India dispute to strengthen its alliance with New Delhi
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began his first visit to India in three years on Monday, a period during which the administration of former US President Joe Biden made significant efforts to pull New Delhi closer to the West as a partner democracy, according to a report in The Times newspaper.
The visit comes amid rapid geopolitical shifts reshaping the global order, with China exploiting the growing rift between the United States and India to strengthen its partnership with New Delhi.
The British newspaper’s correspondent, Richard Spencer, claims that China would prefer to see India as a member of the “Global South,” exploiting shared grievances in developing countries against the United States to form formal and informal alliances.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian was quoted as saying before the visit, “China and India are two major developing countries and important members of the Global South, and cooperation between them as partners who help each other succeed is the right choice for both sides”.
According to the report, India’s position is pivotal to some of the radical shifts in international politics.
The British newspaper recalled that India was an unofficial ally of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, which supplied it with weapons, and stood against the United States in its understanding at the time with China, which was engaged in its reform programs.
It also stood against Pakistan, which correspondent Spencer described as a constant mediator between the United States and China, which has since emerged as America’s greatest geopolitical rival.
With Russia weakening and becoming more isolated, attitudes have begun to shift, according to the Times, noting that India has begun purchasing weapons from the United States, and its populist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formed a close working relationship with President Donald Trump during his first term.
According to The Times newspaper, former US President Joe Biden attempted to formalize this new friendship by inducting India into the “Quad”—a bloc that also includes Japan and Australia—all democracies with reasons to be wary of China’s growing military power in the Asia-Pacific.
However, in his second term, Trump turned against India, as he did with other new “friends” of his country, such as Vietnam, especially regarding trade.
In this regard, the United States is threatening India with tariffs of up to 50% on its exports to the country, which is even higher than those imposed on China under the preliminary bilateral agreement between Washington and Beijing, and significantly higher than those imposed on Pakistan, according to the Times.
Worse for India, it is still developing its economy, partly by attracting investment away from China, while China has a vibrant export economy that some consider overly powerful.
