【By Observer News, Wang Yi】During the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Modi for the first time in seven years in China. Both sides affirmed that China and India are partners rather than rivals, and the resumption of Sino-Indian relations will benefit both countries and also bring benefits to the entire world.
This positive statement has made American media "envious" across the Atlantic. Media outlets such as CNN, CNBC, and The New York Times published articles on September 1st, stating that the U.S. has long viewed India as a key pivot to "counter China," using mechanisms like the Quad (U.S.-Japan-India-Australia) to "balance" China. However, the recent Trump administration's imposition of 50% tariffs on Indian goods has caused a sudden tension in U.S.-India relations. The signal of improved Sino-Indian relations during the SCO summit has led some to claim that the U.S. has failed in its anti-China public opinion campaign, as China is building friendly relations with more countries through the SCO summit.
Xie Chao, a deputy researcher at the South Asian Research Center of Fudan University, analyzed for Observer News that the current Trump administration has broken the previous one-sided strategy of luring India, because they believe India has a willingness to get closer to China. From the perspective of both willingness and strength, India is not an ideal partner for the U.S. Even if the U.S. strategic community still doubts the change in U.S. policy towards India, the Trump administration will not change its position in the short term.
Xie Chao believes that China is promoting deeper and more practical cooperation within the SCO framework, especially focusing on three platforms: energy, green industry, and digital economy, as well as three cooperation centers: technological innovation, higher education, and vocational education. These initiatives align with the general interests and widespread demands of member states, and will greatly promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation among countries within the framework. From Modi's speech at the SCO summit, it can be seen that India generally maintains a positive attitude towards security and connectivity cooperation within the SCO framework.
"Sino-Indian interaction is positive, and the U.S. public opinion war has lost again."
Regarding the meeting between the leaders of China and India on August 31, U.S. media paid special attention to the expression that both sides emphasized "partnership rather than rivalry." CNN noted that China's stance is that as two ancient Eastern civilizations and the two most populous countries in the world, the restart of Sino-Indian relations is the "correct choice" for both sides to become good neighbors and mutually successful partners, realizing "the dance of the dragon and the elephant."
China emphasized that "we should view and handle Sino-Indian relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, and further improve the relationship through the Tianjin meeting to promote the continuous healthy and stable development of bilateral relations."
U.S. media noticed that Modi also had similar expressions in his conversation. He said, "India and China are partners rather than rivals; consensus far exceeds differences. India is willing to look at and develop bilateral relations from a long-term perspective." "Faced with high uncertainty in the global economy, India and China, as major global economies, must strengthen cooperation."
CNN stated that such positive statements will certainly be closely watched in Washington. For many years, the U.S. has used mechanisms like the Quad to attract India and "counter China," but now it is widely believed that the tariff war initiated by the Trump administration and the pressure on India to buy Russian oil may undermine the efforts the U.S. has been making for a long time.
CNBC pointed out that the easing of Sino-Indian relations may help enhance China's influence. Marko Papic, chief strategist at GeoMacro Strategy BCA Access, stated that the interaction between China and India in economic, diplomatic, and security fields is showing "new constructive momentum," and the new U.S. policy towards India is causing the U.S. to lose the "public opinion war" of portraying China as a troublemaker. China is building friendly relations with more countries through the SCO summit.
Xie Chao told Observer News that the current Trump administration has broken the previous established strategy of unilaterally luring India, and has applied maximum pressure on India, considering factors such as the possibility of India moving closer to China. In their eyes, India is not an ideal partner for the U.S., whether in terms of strength or willingness. Even if there are still doubts in the U.S. strategic community about the shift in U.S. policy towards India, these external views will not change the Trump administration's position in the short term.
In February this year, Modi and Trump met at the White House. Visual China
Regarding Sino-Indian relations, Xie Chao pointed out that Modi's statements in the meeting have always been what China hopes India would emphasize. This time, Modi's response indicates that India has accepted China's position. Modi mentioned three points, which corresponded to India's previous perception of China as a rival, emphasizing the differences between the two countries, and setting the restoration of the border situation as a prerequisite for normalizing bilateral relations. However, China emphasizes that the border issue is only part of Sino-Indian relations.
Xie Chao expects that in the short term, India will resume cultural exchanges with China, open up certain industries to Chinese investment, and push for boundary negotiations in areas where conditions are mature, taking substantial measures. Considering that there is already a consensus within the Modi government to gradually ease relations with China, these measures are relatively easy to handle and implement. However, domestic political resistance in India will affect the implementation effect of these measures. Deep-seated improvement in bilateral relations will depend on how the Modi government pushes for further consensus on China domestically.
India has realized that "removing China from the supply chain is too difficult."
In fact, since last year's 16th BRICS Leaders' Summit, Sino-Indian relations have gradually warmed up. At that time, Modi showed a clear intention to ease relations with China, stating that India is willing to look at the relationship with China from a long-term perspective, focus on common interests, and work to normalize cooperation in all fields between the two countries.
Before that, the Indian finance minister and chief economic advisor released signals one after another, clearly indicating that relaxing restrictions on Chinese investment would be beneficial for India's long-term economic development. The Modi government also actively downplayed the handling of the India-Pakistan conflict and quietly responded to the launch of China's hydropower project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. In late June and early July this year, the Indian defense minister and foreign minister visited China successively and announced the resumption of tourist visas to China.
China also responded to India by announcing the resumption of Indian pilgrims' pilgrimage to holy mountains and lakes in Tibet. On the border issue, the two countries reached a 10-point consensus to ease the border situation, laying a solid foundation for Modi's visit to Tianjin.
Xie Chao pointed out that from the situation of the meeting between the leaders of China and India, India has realized that the mutual dependence between the two countries cannot be changed, and trade confrontation with China will only further damage India's economic interests and delay the process of India's industrial development. Therefore, the Modi government will push for opening up to Chinese enterprises in some non-strategic areas, and Sino-Indian trade and business exchanges will objectively see further development.
"India must reconcile with China, and China is an indispensable part of the supply chain," said Santosh Pai, a lawyer at an Indian law firm, telling The New York Times. India originally wanted to replace China in the supply chain through the so-called "China plus one" strategy, but now that the U.S. is not helping and even hindering, India has realized that "it's too hard to remove China."
He said, "We hope the Chinese come in to invest, especially in technology, because this can bring employment opportunities to India. We will thank China's investment."
Xie Chao said that India has long advocated "Make in India" and "decoupling from China," but the stagnation of its manufacturing development has never been resolved. Although India's economic growth rate is fast, it mainly relies on the service sectors such as public administration, construction, and finance. The proportion of manufacturing in GDP has long remained around 14%. The lack of competitiveness in manufacturing, the reliance on government spending or financial expansion for economic growth, and the lack of support for employment growth are breaking the myth of the "Make in India" and "high GDP growth" that the Modi government has created externally.
Xie Chao said that India has recognized a basic reality: "The harder you confront China, the deeper your dependence on China becomes." For example, India's pharmaceutical industry is developing rapidly, but over 90% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) are imported from China. The Modi government highly values the development of the automobile industry, but 93% of rare earth magnets depend on China's supply.
From Modi's speech at the SCO summit, Xie Chao pointed out that India generally maintains a positive attitude towards security and connectivity cooperation within the SCO framework. At the same time, China is also promoting deeper and more practical cooperation within the SCO framework, especially focusing on three platforms: energy, green industry, and digital economy, as well as three cooperation centers: technological innovation, higher education, and vocational education. These initiatives align with the general interests and widespread demands of member states, and will greatly promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation among countries within the framework.
Xie Chao believes that based on the concept of the new BRICS bank, China proposed the establishment of an SCO Development Bank as soon as possible, which is an important sign of improving the institutionalization level of the SCO. This will further promote comprehensive cooperation among all parties within the SCO platform. The cooperation between China and India in the BRICS and SCO platforms is playing an active role in enhancing strategic communication and coordination between the two countries. As the cooperation content within the SCO framework continues to enrich, it will further ease Sino-Indian relations.
This article is an exclusive article from Observer News. Without permission, it cannot be reprinted.
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