U.S. President Donald Trump has just concluded his first state visit to India. During the two-day trip, the countries signed defense deals worth over three billion U.S. dollars, but a highly anticipated trade deal remained elusive. Why did he visit India now? What are the implications for U.S. domestic politics and foreign relations?
Wang Jin, an associate professor at Northwest University of China, explained the significance of Donald Trump's India trip. He said it's an unspoken duty for U.S. presidents to visit India, a major economy in South Asia and the world, in their first four-year term. As Trump's first term comes close to an end, he had to make this trip and fulfill this obligation.
In addition, Professor Wang pointed out that Trump's state visit to India is a good gesture to the domestic Indian-American population. Coming into the presidential election, he will need support and votes from Indian Americans, who traditionally lean towards the Democratic Party.
Bruce Fein, former associate deputy attorney general and general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission under President Reagan, added that the Indian-American population is not only large, but also very wealthy generally and can be potential voters of the Republican Party.
"Most of America's foreign policy is driven more by domestic than international concerns," said Fein. "But there are other elements as well. The United States has attempted to bolster its military weapon sales and the supply to India in a very large amount to replace traditional Soviet and Russian supply."
Fein also introduced an additional point about Trump's containment policy on China. There has been a rising "anti-Chinese frenzy" domestically, such as suspicion that Chinese students studying in universities are spies, efforts to block Chinese takeover of American companies, and trade sanctions. Under the background of the complex China-India relations, Trump's trip to India to bolster military ties could be seen as a move to contain China.
"There's no doubt in the United States there're swelling support for trying to contain, if you will, surround China, viewing it as the replacement of the former Soviet Union in the Cold War," Fein said.
Commodore Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies, stated that India would not like to be "used" by any other power, adding that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have had a couple of good meetings both in China and India.
"My understanding is that India and China would like to have stable relationship. But at the same time, India also attaches value to its relationship with the United States, just as China attaches importance to its relationship with the United States. So my sense is that Mr. Modi would be very keen to have the diplomatic, political and strategic space to engage both with the United States and China," Bhaskar concluded.
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