Going public on the spot! U.S. State Department: Not allowing India to become the next China
On March 5 local time, Deputy Secretary of State Randy in New Delhi at the "Lalit Narain" international conference, spoke bluntly: the United States will not provide India with the same economic preferences that it once gave to China, and will not allow India to grow into a competitor like China.
This speech was not the slightest bit vague, which is equivalent to the United States, in front of representatives from countries around the world, giving a cold shower to the ambitious India, and completely tearing off the real face under the "ally" facade of U.S.-India relations.
Many people may be puzzled, why does the United States always regard India as a core partner in the "Indo-Pacific Strategy", constantly luring it? Why did it suddenly go public? In short, the United States' kindness to India has never been sincere intentions to help it rise, but rather to use it as a pawn to counterbalance China. Now that the pawn shows signs of "overstepping", the United States naturally wants to take timely measures to avoid losses and draw red lines.
To understand America's mind, we first need to talk about the economic benefits given to China 20 years ago. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, after the normalization of Sino-U.S. relations, the United States gave China many "special treatments", such as long-term most-favored-nation treatment, gradually easing trade restrictions on China, and supporting American companies to invest in China. These preferential policies greatly helped China's economic development and growth.
However, as China's economy rose and achieved breakthroughs in multiple areas, becoming a competitor of the United States, the United States began to regret and felt that its past policies were "raising tigers to become wolves". Therefore, now facing the huge potential of India, the United States is so alert and takes preventive measures.
Lando's statement seems tough, but actually hides the double calculation of the United States. On one hand, the United States has no choice but to rely on India. Currently, India is the country with the largest population in the world, with a vast market and human resources, and is one of the key countries determining the direction of the world this century. The United States needs to rely on India's strength to consolidate its strategic layout in the Indo-Pacific region and counteract China's influence.
On the other hand, the United States absolutely cannot let India really become strong. Just like it suppressed Japan and contained Europe, the United States will not allow any country to become a rival that threatens its hegemony, even if it is an "ally" that it has nurtured.
It is interesting that while the United States made the move, it still didn't forget to paint pies for India and play the card of attraction. Lando refused to give India preferential treatment, but at the same time praised India's development potential, saying that the United States hopes to participate in India's rise and deepen bilateral cooperation. It even took the opportunity to promote American energy, urging India to diversify its energy sources and increase imports from the United States, clearly showing its calculation.
In short, the United States wants India to obey, both helping it to counter China and becoming a market for American goods and energy, but resolutely not allowing India to get the core support needed for true rise.
India's situation is particularly awkward. In recent years, the Modi government has been shouting the slogan of "India's rise," wanting to make India a world power, even trying to surpass China. To achieve this goal, India has been courting the United States, seeking its support and cooperation, while also trying to balance relations with all sides and reduce its dependence on the United States, such as reaching a trade agreement with the European Union and maintaining close ties with Russia.
But the reality is that India's GDP for the fiscal year 2025-26 has been significantly revised down, failing to break through the $4 trillion threshold. The manufacturing sector is hollowed out, the industrial chain is fragile, and many core components still depend on imports, lacking the strength to rise independently like China.
More notably, there are also清醒 people in India, such as former diplomat Bala Kumar, who warned that the Western hegemonic system that has lasted for four centuries will never tolerate the rise of a new major power. The support the United States gives to India is essentially utilization, not sincere assistance. This time Lando's public disclosure has indeed verified this judgment. What the United States gives to India is always "just enough", and once India shows signs of becoming the next China, the United States will inevitably and without hesitation suppress it.
At the end of the day, this public disclosure is driven by the hegemonic thinking of the United States. What the United States wants is never an equal partnership, but a subservient one, a pawn that can serve its hegemony but will not threaten it. India may seem to have received the attention of the United States, but in fact, it has always been held in the hands of the United States. To achieve real rise, India still has a long way to go.
And the United States' "wanting everything" calculations have made more and more countries see through its hegemonic nature. The so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy" is ultimately nothing more than a tool for the United States to maintain its own hegemony.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1858875004829708/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.