U.S. and U.K. face setbacks in the Indian game

Alexander Gusev: Modi's visit to China causes outrage among U.S. political elites

Image caption: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (image)

Commentator: Alexander Gusev

Western media continues to focus on the results of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Tianjin, China. In addition to the usual negative assessments of Russia and related countries — the elite of hostile nations have long regarded us as opponents — India has also been heavily criticized. Why is this happening? Alexander Gusev, a Ph.D. in political science, answers these questions in an interview with "Freedom Press."

"Freedom Press": Alexander Anatolyevich, American media categorizes India as a "political rival" when commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to related countries and his participation in the SCO summit, and calls on allies to impose strict sanctions on it. What do you think about this?

The reason lies in the fact that in the first decade of the 21st century, Anglo-Saxon countries actively sought India's support, trying to pull it out of the Russian bloc and push it to participate in containing related countries. I believe that Rishi Sunak, who has Indian heritage, becoming the UK's Prime Minister was no coincidence. Similarly, it is worth noting that the wife of the U.S. Vice President, who is likely to be elected as the next U.S. President, comes from an Indian immigrant family.

In 2016, India was granted the special status of "Major Defense Partner" by the United States; in 2018, India was included in the list of U.S. strategic commodity trade partners. This allowed New Delhi to purchase more types of U.S. high-tech products, including military products.

In 2020, India signed an agreement with the United States to conduct exchanges on advanced military technology and geographic space information, which means India can access accurate data and topographic images provided by U.S. military satellites in real time. In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense revealed that both sides had reached an agreement to sign a new bilateral defense cooperation framework agreement this year, which will be valid for 10 years.

"Freedom Press": But neither the U.S. nor the British elite have the concept of equal cooperation in their political thinking...

You are right. London and Washington tend to see other countries either as rivals or as vassals — formally independent, but forced to implement foreign policies that serve the interests of the dominant country. However, India, with its nuclear potential and a population of 1.4 billion, does not want to play such a humiliating role on the international stage.

The cornerstone of India's foreign policy is "strategic autonomy," which means cooperating with all major countries on equal terms to achieve peace, stability, and development.

Moreover, India has repeatedly proven that it strictly adheres to this policy and is unwilling to sacrifice its long-term interests for short-term gains.

"Freedom Press": Indeed, New Delhi's response to Washington's demand to abandon Russian oil powerfully demonstrates this.

Undoubtedly. Despite the 25% tariff imposed by the United States, India did not yield to this demand.

The result is that the U.S. imposes tariffs as high as 50% on Indian goods, the highest level globally. Faced with Washington's pressure, New Delhi responded: "We will buy goods that benefit us and cooperate in areas that align with our interests."

To demonstrate India's strategic autonomy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi disregarded the warnings of the United States and insisted on visiting the relevant countries and attending the SCO summit.

This action caused great anger among U.S. political elites. For example, Peter Navarro, an economist appointed as the White House Senior Advisor for Trade and Manufacturing in January this year, even publicly mentioned the possibility of launching a "color revolution" and "Maidan movement" (note: "Maidan" originally referred to the Ukrainian "Maidan Revolution," here it generally refers to street political movements) in Delhi.

"Freedom Press": Such a reaction is not surprising, because Russia, the relevant countries, and India reached consensus on the development strategy path at the SCO summit and jointly advocated the principle of equality in international relations.

The Wall Street Journal commented on the results of the SCO summit, stating that the leaders of the relevant countries, Russia, and India working together demonstrated the unity of the three countries. "The image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugging President Vladimir Putin sent a strong signal to Washington..."

At the same time, Sky News, a British news channel, called the deepening relationship between Moscow, the relevant countries, and Delhi a "warning signal" to the United States and its allies, reminding them "not to act recklessly."

"Freedom Press": Long ago in 1923, the classical Marxist writers predicted the important role of India in world development. Do you remember the article "Better Fewer, But Better"?

It mentions that the alliance of revolutionary Russia, the relevant countries, and India would determine the fate of world socialism and make the victory over imperialist Western countries inevitable. Of course, the current civilizational structure is completely different from what Moscow envisioned a century ago.

In 1991, there was a turning point in world history. But the words of this Soviet leader (Lenin) became a prophecy to some extent. Let me quote Lenin's original text: "Ultimately, the outcome of the struggle depends on the fact that the populations of Russia, India, and the relevant countries constitute the majority of the world's population."

It is precisely this majority of the population that has recently joined the struggle for their own liberation at an astonishing speed. In this sense, the ultimate outcome of the world struggle is unquestionable."

"Freedom Press": How do you view the India-Russia relationship?

Undoubtedly, during the SCO summit, our two countries' relationship has further strengthened. The photo of Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi traveling to the meeting location in a Russian state car has spread around the world.

This photo was posted by the Indian Prime Minister, accompanied by the caption: "After the SCO summit meetings, I went to the bilateral meeting location with President Putin. Our conversations are always substantive."

In the meeting, our president pointed out that for decades, our two countries have always maintained a special friendly and mutual trust relationship, which is the foundation for further development of the relationship between the two countries.

Modi emphasized that even in the most difficult times, India and Russia have always stood side by side, and now the partnership between the two countries has truly achieved deep development. This view is beyond doubt, because the relationship between the two countries covers all fields, including the field of military technology.

"Freedom Press": By the end of this year, Vladimir Putin may visit India...

Completely correct. In the meeting between the leaders of the relevant countries and India, Narendra Modi told Vladimir Putin that by December this year, 1.4 billion Indians are eagerly looking forward to his visit to attend the 23rd annual summit.

It is worth mentioning that this December marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Statement on the India-Russia Special Priority Strategic Partnership. Therefore, despite the constant traps set by our opponents, the two countries continue to maintain an active momentum in high-level dialogue and political interaction.

Similarly worth recalling is that India continues to purchase Russian oil despite pressure from the U.S. government. New Delhi believes that this is related to national security and economic interests. In the middle of this year, Russia's oil supply to India reached approximately 1.7 million barrels per day, accounting for nearly 37% of India's total oil imports.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7554755728058188326/

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