India and China hail warming ties amid Trump-induced geopolitical shake-up

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1. SS: India’s prime minister and China’s foreign minister have hailed “steady” progress in their countries’ fractious relationship, agreeing to resume trade and other ties, as well as work towards resolving the long-running Himalayan border dispute, amid a global geopolitical shake-up instigated by Donald Trump’s tariff regime.

   According to statements from China’s foreign ministry, the two sides agreed to resume direct flights – reiterating a pledge made in January – as well as issuing visas to journalists and facilitating business and cultural exchanges.

   On social media, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, noted “respect for each other’s interests and sensitiveness”, while China’s foreign ministry said the countries had entered a “steady development track” and should “trust and support” each other.

   India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said Wang and the Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval discussed “de-escalation, delimitation and boundary affairs”.

   Chinese state media phrased the discussion as agreeing to “explore the possibility of advancing boundary demarcation negotiations”.

   The thawing of relations between Delhi and Beijing comes as Donald Trump’s unprecedented trade tariffs continue to shake up the global order.

   Sana Hashmi, a fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, said the US president’s tariffs and the perception of a reduced US presence in Indo-Pacific partnerships had contributed to and accelerated efforts to stabilise the India-China relationship.

   But there remained “fundamental differences” between the two.

   “Core security issues and the overall nature of India-China relations will not change because of Trump’s policies, and the Indo-Pacific framework will continue to shape regional dynamics,” Hashmi told the Guardian.

   “For now, India’s priority lies in managing tensions with China while navigating turbulent waters with the US.”

2. This whole development is very interesting.

   The Trump admin has been warming ties with Russia and by all accounts going pretty soft on China.

   What’s the point of beefing with India lol

3. So I guess Trump does deserve the Nobel peace prize 🏆

4. This is not surprising if you have read up on the history of the India China border conflict. In fact it has already been “solved” when Zhou Enlai offered territory recognition swap between the disputed borders of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh along the line of actual control. China basically said, I’ll recognize Arunachal Pradesh as Indian if India recognizes Aksai Chin as Chinese. Given that Arunachal Pradesh is more than twice as big and Aksai Chin is basically a wasteland, this is a higher benefit to India, however Nehru did not accept this deal so we get the stand-off. Whenever India accepts the current LoC border is when the dispute becomes solved.

   Related to Trump and western meddling in Asia like using tariffs as bullying tool, arguably the entire India China “conflict” stems from similar Western colonizer meddling when Pakistan was partitioned from British Raj and the border dispute from McMahon Line.

5. Bahahaha, Make America Great Again my ass.

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