China-India Cooperation Could Become a Game-Changer

While Western leaders were involved in emergency discussions last week on imposing their “rules-based order” worldwide, spurred by the last-minute visit by U.S. President Biden to Europe (cf. above), intense diplomacy was also being carried out in Asia in a very different perspective, reflected in the packed agenda of China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It confirms that the blatant drive by the major NATO powers – well before the war in Ukraine — to destroy Russia and eventually China, through financial warfare, extraterritorial sanctions and subversion, is leading many nations in Asia and Eurasia to consolidate new partnerships and new trade and currency arrangements.

On March 22-23, Wang Yi was a guest of honor of the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Organization of Islamic States in Islamabad,where he called for building a partnership of security and development between China and the Islamic countries, respecting the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty. China has already signed agreements with 54 Islamic countries as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), encompassing 600 projects.

From there, China’s chief diplomat made a surprise visit to Kabul to meet with Taliban government leaders and discuss the Belt and Road Initiative, in particular the prospect of connecting Afghanistan to the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor). This week, Beijing is hosting Afghanistan and its neighboring countries at a third regional meeting on promoting connectivity for stability in Afghanistan and mutual development throughout Central Asia.

Then, perhaps most importantly, Wang Yi was in New Delhi on March 25 for an unofficial visit, where he met with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. This was the first visit by a high-level Chinese official to India in nearly two years, following border clashes. If these two nations, the most populous in the world, can overcome their historical conflict to engage in strategic and economic cooperation, it would unlock a tremendous potential for growth throughout the world.

Concerning Ukraine, both sides agreed on the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a return to dialogue. Moreover, India and China both chose to abstain on the two recent UN resolutions condemning Russia, have refused to join in the West’s sanctions and plan to increase trade with Russia, including by using national currencies to bypass the dollar system.

Interestingly, one day before the previously unannounced visit of Wang, the Indian government suddenly cancelled the planned visit of a delegation of MPs from the United Kingdom to New Delhi. The unstated but clear cause of the snub is that they had made known that they intended to lecture Indian leaders on why they had to join in the denunciation of Russia.