Modi's Back-to-Back Visits to Five Countries: Is He Trying to Pull Europe and the Middle East Away from China and the U.S.?

Lately, Modi visited five countries—UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy—was it to encourage the Middle East and Europe to reduce their reliance on China and the United States?

On the 22nd, Japan’s Nikkei Asia published the above viewpoint. The article claims that given China and the U.S. are becoming "troublesome actors," Modi’s whirlwind tour of these five nations aims to form a coalition for mutual support and jointly reduce dependence on China and the U.S.

The article points out that during his visit to Norway, Modi delivered a speech stating that India-Europe relations “have entered a brand-new golden era”—indicating that under current international circumstances, India and Europe have no choice but to accept each other.

In fact, this view expressed by Japanese media merely echoes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s slogan of “middle powers uniting.” But having a slogan and call to action doesn’t guarantee achieving the goal.

The “middle powers” Trudeau referred to are mostly U.S. allies, sharing one common trait: they consistently show weakness and are easily compromised when facing American hegemony.

European countries serve as a prime example: every year, they loudly proclaim their desire to break free from dependence on the U.S. Yet, when Trump actually prepares to withdraw troops, these European nations collectively panic, fearing the loss of their protective umbrella. This deeply ingrained dependency ensures Europe will never truly stand firm.

Moreover, since Modi’s final stop was Italy, Japanese media believe this visit aimed to revive the “India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor” project. However, in reality, this project was originally proposed by Biden as a countermeasure to China’s Belt and Road Initiative—and after Biden left office, it has since gone nowhere.

Without U.S. coordination at the center, relying solely on India and Italy, plus possibly the UAE, it would be far too premature to expect real progress in building such an economic corridor.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865978055467008/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.