New Delhi: US President Donald Trump, once again, offered to mediate border issues between India and China Thursday, but New Delhi declined, clarifying problems with its neighbours would be dealt with bilaterally.
Earlier as well, during the border clashes between India and China, Trump announced in May 2020 that the US “is ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute”.
After a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump said at a joint press conference Thursday: “I think we are going to have a very good relationship with China. I got along with President Xi [Jinping] very well until COVID; that was a bridge too far … 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. I look at India, I do see the skirmishes on the border, which are quite vicious, and I guess they continue to go on. If I could be of help, I would love to help because that should be stopped.”
He added: “That has been going on for a long time. It is quite violent. I hope China, India, Russia and the US can get along.”
Later on Thursday evening, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri clarified at a special briefing that New Delhi had always “adopted a bilateral approach” to dealing with border issues and would continue to do so. “Whatever issues we have with any of our neighbours, we have always adopted a bilateral approach to dealing with these issues. It is no different—between India and China. We have been discussing any issues we have with them on a bilateral plane, and we will continue to do so,” said Misri.
The comments came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the US concluded. The visit saw Modi and Trump hold over four hours of discussions on the entire gamut of ties between the two countries.
The 2020 Galwan clashes saw a diplomatic chill between India and China for over four years. On 21 October 2024, India first announced the agreement to disengage at the friction points on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which paved the way for a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Russian city of Kazan on the margins of the BRICS summit, a few days later. Since then, the two countries’ leaderships have held several high-level meetings.
Takeaways from Modi-Trump meet
India and the US have made several announcements on deepening defence cooperation, broadening partnerships in critical and emerging technologies and several new initiatives, including the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) to co-develop opportunities in underwater domain awareness technologies.
Meanwhile, hours before the meeting with Modi, Trump announced the US’s new policy of imposing reciprocal tariffs on nations. The US president highlighted the tariffs India has placed on American products, especially on cars.
India and the US have sought to deepen the procurement of defence platforms and the purchase of more American oil by New Delhi to reduce the trade deficit between the two countries. In 2023-2024, India exported goods worth $77 billion to the US and imported goods worth roughly $42.1 billion.
The American President also announced his approval for the extradition of 26/11 accused Tahuwwar Rana to India and for closer cooperation in combating terrorism globally.
Prime Minister Modi announced two new consulates in Los Angeles and Boston, during the joint press conference.
The two leaders also announced the India-US TRUST initiative—a successor to the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies started during the previous Joe Biden-led administration.
The Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technology initiative, moreover, will see the two countries cooperate in several areas such as defence, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, energy and space.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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