After a summit between the leaders of the world’s major powers, the temptation is to read too much into it too soon. At the same time, the turbulence of the international order and the vagaries of geopolitics in recent years have meant that many diplomatic takeaways from such meetings have short shelf lives. Agreements are revised, understandings unravel, and today’s apparent shift in the balance can look rather different after the next crisis, negotiation or election.
Therefore, any reading of the Trump-Xi meeting in Washington must be made with a degree of caution. Even after factoring in these uncertainties, a question remains from a distinctly Indian standpoint. What does it mean for New Delhi when Washington and Beijing, the world’s two most powerful states, are trying to recalibrate their relationship and adjust the balance of their rivalry?
