Ground may be shifting in India-China relations

During a visit to China in early July, this author had the opportunity to engage a wide spectrum of Chinese interlocutors to gauge the mood in Beijing towards India. It also provided a glimpse into China's outlook towards the US in the Trump 2.0 era.

- Sujan Chinoy

A general view among Chinese scholars and intellectuals was that Trump's policies have created great uncertainty, with a retrograde push towards de-globalisation. The core of US-China competition is technology. Cyber technologies and AI are adding to the complexity.

The mood in Beijing was more confident and combative towards the US than during the Biden administration. There was widespread conviction that the US was in decline. Ironically, Chinese interlocutors viewed Trump's tariff wars and his proclivity for “deals” as an opportunity to secure China’s interests.

The view in Beijing of China’s global leadership currently borders on a zero-sum approach, with “the inevitable decline of the US and the ineluctable rise of Chinas the global leader”. Bitterness and a serves-them-right attitude towards the US was unmistakable and all pervasive. Chinese scholars and experts appeared to be convinced that the world stands divided into two camps led by the US and China respectively, and that the current moment provided India an opportunity to join hands with China.