Blustery President Trump chooses to hold back on China
Trump showcased reluctance to criticize China during a press conference with Modi, emphasizing ties with Xi and downplaying US-China competition.
One of the most striking things about an otherwise expansive Donald Trump, willing to hold court in the Oval Office and then do the longest press conference he has done with a visiting foreign leader so far, was his reticence on China and reluctance to say anything that could be deemed critical of the country.
Instead, Trump underplayed the competition with China, underlined he had no intention of beating anyone, spoke of his excellent ties with President Xi Jinping, highlighted China’s role in the possible resolution of the war in Ukraine, spoke wistfully of possible denuclearisation with Russia and China, even offered to help mediate the India-China border issue if the countries wanted, an offer that India politely but firmly rejected the same evening.
He did all of this, while PM Narendra Modi sat and stood alongside. And this came just hours after Trump had told reporters in the Oval that he was keen on a meeting with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the Oval right after his opening remarks welcoming Modi, HT asked Trump what role he expected India to play in the US competition with China. Trump responded, “I think we are doing very well in the competition with everybody. You are going to see a nation that is going forward at a very rapid pace. Our economy is going to be fantastic. We are doing things for it to be that way. We announced a big element of success today..reciprocal tariffs.” There was no mention of China, and the by-now-expected mention of tariffs. To be sure, Trump has already announced higher tariffs against China, and only threatened to impose higher tariffs on India.
In response to another question on how he planned to beat China if he imposed tariffs on India, Trump said, “We are in a good shape to beat anyone we want but we are not looking to beat anybody. We are looking to do a very good job. We have done a fantastic job for the American people.” He didn’t mention China again.
Later, at the press conference, when asked about the US-India relationship in the context of China, Trump said, “Well, I think we are going to have a very good relationship with China. I got along with President Xi very well until Covid. That was a bridge too far. But until then, I got along with President Xi very, very well. We were very close as leaders go. I don’t want to be naive, but as leaders go, I think we were very close. And I think that China is a very important player in the world. I think they can help us get this war over with Ukraine and Russia.”
He then said he looked at skirmishes that India had with China at the border and termed them “vicious”, suggested they were “still going on” and offered to help. “If I could be of help, I would love to help because that should be stopped. That’s been going on for a long time. And it’s quite violent. It’s quite violent.”
Asked about Trump’s offer later, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that India had a long standing policy of resolving its issues with neighbours bilaterally. And the last time the border saw any real violence was back in 2020.
To be sure, China constituted the strategic subtext of key initiatives from technology to defence, from Quad to maritime security, that India and the US agreed on. But Trump’s reticence — especially for a leader not quite known for the quality — was a significance takeaway, and a glimpse of his approach to China. Incidentally, since he imposed tariffs on China, Xi and he have not spoken.