Five years ago US-India relations warmed under President Trump with strong bilateral trade and high-level public camaraderie. By June 2020 relations with China collapsed after 20 Indian soldiers died in Galwan Valley clashes, troops massed along the Ladakh border, and India banned over 200 Chinese apps, including TikTok. New Delhi expanded defence cooperation with the United States and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Japan and Australia. In May India treated China as its primary adversary after Pakistan used Chinese defence systems during a four-day conflict following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. Trump-era tariffs, notably a 50 percent duty on Indian imports, and shifting geopolitical winds have since encouraged a thaw between New Delhi and Beijing, risking erosion of US influence in Asia and encouraging new regional trade alignments.
By June that year, relations with China, on the other hand, came crashing down: 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region. India banned more than 200 Chinese apps, including TikTok, and Indian and Chinese troops lined up along their disputed border in an eyeball-to-eyeball standoff. New Delhi also expanded defence and strategic cooperation with the US and the Quad grouping, officially the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which also includes Japan and Australia.
As recently as May this year, India treated China as its primary adversary, after Pakistan used Chinese defence systems during its four-day war with India after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. But Trump's tariff wars, especially against India which has been slapped with a 50 percent duty on its imports and rapid geopolitical shifts have led to a thaw in New Delhi's relations with Beijing.
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