Now, another 'Trumpian' -related bombshell ..... or otherwise ? :::: A 'secret letter' from Xi Jinping to President Murmu gave "push to rebuild ties" with India

A secret letter from Xi Jinping kicked off China’s push to rebuild ties with India as a safeguard against Donald Trump 

The story goes like this. Back in March, when US President Donald Trump was ratcheting up his trade war with China, Beijing began a steady and quiet outreach to India.

Bloomberg report claims - President Xi Jinping wrote a letter to Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu — who is of course a figurehead — to test the waters on improving ties between India and China. 

Quoting 'an Indian official familiar with the matter', the report claims -- The letter expressed concern about any US deals that would harm China’s interests and named a provincial official who would steer Beijing’s efforts.

This sent the message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi; the report claims.

The rapprochement between India and China appears to be accelerating, with both nations taking a major step to move beyond a deadly 2020 border clash by agreeing to redouble efforts to settle their border disputes.

India's economic ambitions have been stymied by restrictions from both sides of the border, but improved ties with China could provide a potential new market for China's slowing economy and much-needed investment in factories for India.

It wasn’t until June that Modi’s government began making a serious effort to improve relations with China, the person said, asking not to be identified in order to discuss internal matters. 

At the time, trade talks with the US were turning contentious and officials in New Delhi were bristling over Trump’s claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following four days of fighting in May.

Fast forward to August, and the rapprochement between India and China appears to be accelerating. 

Stung by Trump’s tariffs, both nations took a major step last week to move beyond a deadly 2020 border clash by agreeing to redouble efforts to settle their border disputes, which date back to the colonial era. 

And this weekend, PM Modi will make his much talked about first trip to China in seven years for the SCO Summit. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend. 

The India-China detente has deep implications for the US, which had carefully courted New Delhi over the past few decades during successive administrations to be a counterweight to an increasingly powerful China. 

Trump upended that dynamic by imposing 50% tariffs on Indian exports due to its purchases of Russian oil, an abrupt shift that shocked Modi’s government.

“Trump is indeed the great peacemaker — he deserves all the credit for stimulating the incipient rapprochement between Delhi and Beijing,” Ashley Tellis, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former US diplomat in New Delhi, said ironically. 

“He has singlehandedly pulled this off by treating India as an enemy.”

As early as January last year, Modi had been quietly exploring ways to defuse tensions with China. 

Facing an election at the time, Modi’s officials argued that improved ties with Beijing would benefit a wobbling economy as concerns mounted over the cost of keeping forces stationed along the remote 3,488 kilometer (2,167 miles) unmarked border, people familiar with his administration’s thinking said.

Since the middle of 2023, the two sides had narrowed their differences over pulling back troops along the border.

Shortly after Xi’s letter to India’s president in March of this year, Beijing published a statement from the Chinese leader celebrating the relationship, describing it as a “dragon-elephant tango.” 

Soon, his top officials like Vice President Han Zheng were using the same phrase to describe warmer ties between the countries.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is driving the engagement as one of the few Indian officials with trusted, direct channels to China’s top leadership.

In July, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, the first such visit in five years. 

The Indian diplomat urged China to avoid “restrictive trade measures and roadblocks” — an oblique reference to Beijing’s recent curbs on rare earths that disrupted supply chains. 

China assured India of supplies of fertilizer and rare earths during the meeting.

In the weeks that followed, there’s been a succession of incremental steps to improve ties. Direct flights between the two are set to resume as early as next month.

 Beijing has eased curbs on urea shipments to India. And Modi’s government allowed tourist visas for Chinese nationals after years of curbs.

The Adani Group is also exploring a tie up with Chinese EV giant BYD Co. that would allow the conglomerate controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani — who is seen as close to Modi — to manufacture batteries in India and extend its push into clean energy.

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