Modi And Biden Bond Amid Mutual Concerns Over China

Narendra Modi arrived in Washington DC last Wednesday - the capital of a country he was once prohibited from visiting for almost 10 years - and joined the ranks of Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Volodymyr Zelenskiy as one of the few leaders to address a joint session of Congress more than once.

- Hannah Ellis-Petersen

Ahead of the visit US officials had been rapturous on US-India relations, praising the "significant defence partnership" and describing it as "a unique connection between the world's oldest and largest democracies". Before his departure from India, Modi said: "This special invitation is a reflection of the vigour and vitality of the partnership between our democracies."

Now the world's most populous country and the world's fifth largest economy, India's growing prominence, both economically and geopolitically, makes it a country that the Biden administration cannot ignore. Yet most experts say China has been the fundamental driver of this growing alliance, and mutual concerns over Beijing's aggressive, expansionist agenda have never been more acute.

Since Modi last visited the US in 2019, China's actions along its 3,500km border with India have become increasingly antagonistic. In 2020, the two sides came the closest they had been to war in 70 years when troops clashed along the Himalayan border in Ladakh. Since then, China has built up vast amounts of infrastructure along disputed territory and shown little desire to disengage in key areas of contention.