China won’t change course. Modi’s PR events with stage-managed applause have never worked

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, China, Sunday | Photo: PMO via PTI

As recently as 7 May, Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied PL-15 missiles, guided by “live inputs” from China, were arcing deep into Indian airspace toward our warplanes. Some found their targets, forcing Indian pilots to eject to save their lives. Less than four months later in Tianjin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was toasting China’s President Xi Jinping, celebrating the “atmosphere of peace and stability” that allegedly followed the October 2024 disengagement in eastern Ladakh.

That’s not all. In Tianjin, Modi also told Xi that both India and China are “victims of terrorism” and should work together to combat this “scourge”. Never mind that China gave Pakistan full military support during Operation Sindoor, India’s response to a Pakistan-sponsored terror attack. Or that the logo of the “People’s Anti-Fascist Front”, considered a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, carries five red stars. Or that China has repeatedly blocked Indian efforts at the UN to sanction individuals like Masood Azhar and Sajid Mir, as well as groups like “The Resistance Front”.

So, what on earth is going on?

PR events have backfired

The immediate trigger may be the economic war declared on India by Modi’s “close friend”, US President Donald Trump. But it’s been only two months since India’s Deputy Chief of Army Staff said the country faced “three adversaries” in Operation Sindoor — one of them China. Around the same time, China launched construction of a $167 billion hydropower project in Medog, Tibet, threatening India’s “lower riparian” water rights in the Northeast.

If Modi’s outreach makes China miraculously change course, it may be worth it. But colour me sceptical.

The fact is, every awkward hug and cup of tea brewed to showcase Modi’s camaraderie with Trump or Xi has come back to bite him, and by extension India. Whether it was “jhoola diplomacy” or “Howdy Modi”, each hollow PR event, complete with stage-managed applause, eventually backfired. And with India’s two most consequential relationships: the US and China.

There is no doubt Modi’s narcissism and PR-driven foreign policy have led to this outcome. Optics can supplement and highlight convergences, but they cannot cover up real divergences. Sometimes, leaders have to tell others where to get off. If Indira Gandhi had based her foreign policy on “good vibes” with world leaders, Bangladesh would still be East Pakistan.

A whole new show is on

Not that you would get any sense of this from fawning TV coverage of whatever Modi does. In February, “experts”, reporters, and anchors all told us how well the Trump-Modi summit went, how Trump valued the Indian relationship, and what a magical job Modi did in wooing him. The same people are now explaining why Trump doesn’t value India at all, offering deep insights into his psyche.

Now they say Modi is overturning the global balance of power by riding in a limousine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or by being wedged into a conversation between Xi and Putin. Meme material may serve propaganda (or undermine it), but it offers no insight into what is happening. And what is happening is the burnishing of one leader’s image at the expense of any insight whatsoever.

Compare this with India’s leadership of the non-aligned world, its careful navigation of the treacherous Cold War waters, and its visible self-belief and dignity while dealing with superpowers — all while being a much smaller, weaker economy.

The Modi years began in hubris and delusion and have descended into farce, whether through a forced return to non-alignment or an embrace of a country that has long undermined India’s national interest.

Amitabh Dubey is a Congress member. He tweets @dubeyamitabh. Views are personal.

(Edited by Prashant)