A British Newspaper: China Exploits the US-India Dispute to Strengthen Its Alliance with New Delhi

SadaNews - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began his first visit to India on Monday, marking his first trip there in three years. During this time, the administration of former US President Joe Biden made significant efforts to pull New Delhi closer to the Western sphere as a partner democracy, according to a report by the British newspaper The Times.

The visit comes amid rapid geopolitical shifts reshaping the global order, with China exploiting the growing rift between the United States and India to enhance its partnership with New Delhi.

The paper's correspondent, Richard Spencer, claims that China would prefer India to be a member of the "Global South" group, capitalizing on the shared grievances of developing countries against the United States to form both formal and informal alliances.

The Right Choice for Both Parties

Before the visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated, "China and India are both large developing countries and important members of the Global South, and cooperation between them as partners helps each succeed, which is the right choice for both parties."

According to the report, India's position is pivotal regarding some fundamental shifts in international politics. The British paper recalled that India was an informal ally of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, which had supplied it with weapons, and that it stood against the United States during its détente with China, which was then undergoing its reform programs.

India also opposed Pakistan, which Spencer describes as the perennial intermediary between the US and China, with the latter having emerged since then as America's largest geopolitical competitor.

With Russia's weakening and isolation, positions began to change, the Times notes, pointing out that India started buying weapons from the United States, and its populist Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a close working relationship with President Donald Trump during his first presidential term.

According to the newspaper, former President Joe Biden attempted to formalize this new friendship by incorporating India into the "Quad" - a coalition that includes, alongside the two countries, Japan and Australia - all democracies with reasons to be wary of China's growing military power in Asia and the Pacific.

Radical Change

However, Trump turned against India in his second term, as he did with other "new friends" like Vietnam, particularly regarding trade.

In this context, the United States threatens India with imposing tariffs of up to 50% on its exports to the country, which is higher than those imposed on China under the preliminary bilateral agreement between Washington and Beijing, and also significantly exceeds those applied to Pakistan, according to the Times.

Worst of all for India is that it is still in the process of developing its economy, partly by attracting investments away from China, while China possesses a vibrant export economy that some consider overly strong.