Did Trump drive India and China closer? Xi’s secret letter to India suggests so - Here's what the Chinese president said
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Did Trump drive India and China closer? Xi’s secret letter to India suggests so - Here's what the Chinese president said")
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Photograph: (Reuters)
Amid rising US-China trade tensions, Xi Jinping privately contacted India, warning against US-India deals harming China and appointing a provincial official to manage diplomatic outreach, Bloomberg reported.
When US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China earlier this year, Beijing quietly reached out to New Delhi. According to a Bloomberg report citing an Indian official, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a private letter to President Droupadi Murmu as part of that effort.
Although addressed to President Murmu, the message was quickly passed on to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Xi expressed concerns about possible US-India agreements that could damage China’s interests. He also named a provincial official who would oversee Beijing’s outreach, the report said.
Delhi starts to warm up to Beijing
The letter, sent in March, marked the beginning of what now looks like a fresh phase in India-China ties. An Indian official told Bloomberg that by June, Modi’s government began taking steps to improve relations with Beijing, partly because trade talks with Washington were turning hostile. In August, the two Asian neighbours agreed to push harder for resolving their decades-old border dispute, even as memories of the deadly 2020 clash linger. This weekend, Modi will visit China for the first time in seven years.
Trump’s tariffs push Delhi closer to Beijing
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The development could reshape regional politics. For decades, Washington has built up India as a counterweight to China. But Trump disrupted that approach by slapping 50% tariffs on Indian exports over New Delhi’s oil trade with Moscow. Ashley Tellis, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Bloomberg, “Trump is indeed the great peacemaker, he deserves all the credit for stimulating the incipient rapprochement between Delhi and Beijing. He has singlehandedly pulled this off by treating India as an enemy.”
Steps to rebuild ties
Since Xi’s letter, there has been a string of small but important moves:
• National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has visited China twice in recent months.
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelled to Beijing in July, the first such visit in five years.
• Direct flights between the two countries may resume soon.
• India has restored tourist visas for Chinese nationals.
• China has eased curbs on fertiliser shipments to India.
Business links are also reopening. The Adani Group is exploring a partnership with Chinese EV maker BYD, while Reliance and JSW are also holding quiet talks with Chinese companies.
A history of personal diplomacy
Modi and Xi have met nearly 20 times in the past. Back in 2017, Modi approached Xi at a G20 summit in Germany to help defuse the Doklam border standoff. The frank exchange ended the 74-day crisis within days. With Modi and Xi scheduled to meet again on 1 September at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, observers are watching closely for signs of how far this thaw will go.
Despite the progress, mistrust lingers. China’s support for Pakistan, tensions over Taiwan, and questions about the Dalai Lama’s succession remain major sticking points. Both sides are expected to move cautiously, focusing on small steps rather than sweeping agreements.
