India pivots to China as Trump cools ties

India’s diplomacy has taken a dramatic turn, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi preparing for a landmark trip to Beijing later this month in what observers describe as New Delhi’s sharpest foreign policy pivot in decades.

Kamran Khan said in his vlog that the shift follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to distance Washington from India despite 25 years of close strategic alignment. “The world can see America has sidelined India,” Khan remarked, adding that Modi and his government have been left stunned.

According to Khan, India has revived an old strategic maxim rooted in Chanakya’s political thought: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” After years of hostility with Beijing, New Delhi is suddenly embracing closer engagement with China.

Last week, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, received an unusually warm reception in New Delhi. He met Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, where the two sides discussed easing trade barriers, resuming tourist visas, restoring direct flights, and reopening three Himalayan trade routes.

The visit is widely seen as a prelude to Modi’s planned Aug. 31 trip to China, his first in seven years, where he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and hold talks with President Xi Jinping.

The development is striking given India and China’s turbulent history. The two countries fought a war in 1962, clashed repeatedly in border areas such as Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, and most recently saw deadly hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that killed 20 Indian soldiers. Following those clashes, India suspended flights, banned Chinese apps, and canceled contracts with Chinese firms.

“Now, after five years, India and China are holding their first high-level de-escalation talks,” Khan said. Jaishankar stressed that disputes should not become conflicts, while Wang Yi urged the two countries to see each other as partners, not threats.

Yet the rapprochement comes in the shadow of India’s recent war with Pakistan, a conflict that ended in New Delhi’s defeat. Indian Deputy Army Chief Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh alleged that China and Turkey supported Pakistan during the fighting, while Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Anil Chauhan has identified Beijing as a key security challenge alongside Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Khan argued that India’s shock at losing U.S. support has accelerated its pivot to China. “There is growing doubt in New Delhi that Washington will back India in a future conflict,” he said, noting that Russia already stands firmly aligned with Beijing.

Still, the political thaw is driven more by economics than trust. India has quietly reinstated tourist visas for Chinese citizens and is preparing to restore commercial flights as early as September. The Adani Group is reportedly exploring a strategic partnership with Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD, while China could ease fertilizer exports to India and supply rare earth elements crucial for manufacturing.

Trade ties between the rivals are already substantial. China is India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting $138 billion last year — $120 billion of that in Chinese exports. “Despite tensions, the economic relationship never collapsed,” Khan noted.

China’s state-run Global Times has cast Modi’s expected Beijing trip as evidence of America’s failure to use India to contain China. “U.S. tariffs have ironically served as a bridge between Beijing and New Delhi,” Khan said.

Analysts caution, however, that decades of mistrust cannot be erased overnight. Beijing remains wary of India’s harboring of the Dalai Lama, while New Delhi is deeply conscious of China’s close partnership with Pakistan.

“India and China are carefully reviving their ties, but this reset is rooted in economic pragmatism, not renewed confidence,” Khan concluded. “Meanwhile, China’s ironclad alliance with Pakistan remains untouched and unshakable.”