Xi Met Biden, Albanese. When Will He Meet PM Modi?

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Source : Getty

Biden-Xi Meeting: Let's be clear, the United States and China have time and again made it clear that despite soaring tensions between them, business will continue as usual, and the much-awaited bilateral meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is yet another example of that. Earlier this month, Xi held another bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. But being immediate neighbours and having a tense relationship on top of that, why is Xi not having a proper bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi? 

The carefully planned four-hour meeting between President Biden and President Xi sought to send a message to the world that everything is stable and smooth between the two countries while they have kept every other country on tenterhooks since 2018 with the onset of a “trade war” between them. 

As China became more and more aggressive, the US also ratcheted up its trade issues with Beijing but the reality is that business has continued between the two, unabated. China continues to remain one of the largest export markets for US goods and services, and the United States is among the top export markets for China. US goods and services trade with China totaled an estimated $758.4 billion in 2022. Exports were $195.5 billion and imports were $562.9 billion. The US goods and services trade deficit with China was $367.4 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) data. 

These figures have been registered despite punitive trade actions between them. Under former US President Donald Trump, the US imposed a plethora of tariffs on Chinese goods, which triggered a series of retaliatory actions that included almost all goods and services that the US imports from China. This was further accentuated by Biden who brought in tough export controls on computer chips to arrest China’s growth in that sector. 

Yet, during the meeting with Xi, Biden said in no uncertain terms that the US and China are “competitors” even as he reaffirmed Washington’s ‘One China’ policy on the issue of Taiwan. Yes, Biden did call Xi a “dictator” during a press conference afterwards but in the same breath he also said “we made progress”. And, most importantly, Biden made it crystal clear that the US and China are resuming military-to-military contacts because “that’s how accidents happen, misunderstandings… So, we’re back to direct, open, clear, direct communications on a direct basis. Vital miscalculations on either side can cause real, real trouble.”

Earlier this month, Australian PM Anthony Albanese also met President Xi in Beijing and told him that “Australia, along with other countries in the region, has an interest in continued stable growth in the Chinese economy and its ongoing engagement with the world”.

Why There Should Be A Modi-Xi Bilateral Too 

It’s time for India now to learn the balancing act from its two Quad partners. While India and the US are now closer than they were ever before, New Delhi should not forget the geography it belongs to. If despite soaring tension with China, Biden and Albanese can talk with Xi, so can Modi. Xi’s absence from the G20 Summit hosted by New Delhi should serve as a clarion call for the policy makers here. Let’s not forget that despite the Galwan clash in June 2020, Foreign Ministers of India and China did meet in Moscow and so did the National Security Advisors of both countries. 

During the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October 2022, Xi made sure that the Galwan clash was shown to all members as an “achievement” by him. This will be the fourth winter when the Indian Army will be standing guard at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) high up the Himalayas. India needs to understand that it has no choice but to have a full-fledged bilateral meeting with Xi. One way can be inviting President Xi to India or PM Modi undertaking a visit to China. Someone has to break the ice before things go out of hand. This will also help in the government’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, which is fast becoming another strategic battlefield for New Delhi and Beijing. 

China needs to also stop seeing India through the US’ lens. Under Xi, China has become overly suspicious of India’s closeness with the US. India and China have had border clashes in the past too but all of them got resolved by talking then why is China shying away now? 

At an event in Hong Kong recently, former foreign secretary Shyam Saran said: “China has been looking at India through the prism of its prevailing and tense relationship with the US. This distorts its perception of India… It is not that there were no problems along the disputed India-China border in the past but over nearly 4 decades these were managed and resolved through bilateral mechanisms at multiple levels. Now there is less of an accommodating attitude on China’s part and this is the backdrop to the serious clashes which occurred in 2020 and which have led to a worsening of relations.”

China keeps reiterating that it wants business as usual with India but acts just the opposite. If Beijing is indeed serious about India then President Xi should come to India. And before PM Modi absorbs himself into the election mode, he must hold one bilateral summit-level meeting with Xi, like Biden and Albanese. Meeting Xi on the margins of a bigger event, that too in an informal setup like what happened in Bali last year, will serve no purpose.