Unpredictable conduct of Trump and "uncertainty" in their own relationship with US would take India and China 'much closer' in times to come

During the drafting of the 'New Delhi Declaration' at the BRICS Summit. the challenge was bigger than simply finding consensus on a few paragraphs.

"Aur Karib aa jao" -- Come much closer than we are today -- spirit will make BRICS Delhi Summit 'relevant and refreshing' in times to come.  

Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, added a Bollywood flavour to his visit to India as he broke into Kishore Kumar’s iconic song 'Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat' from the 1965 film 'Teen Deviyan'.

Malaysian PM adds a new 'Kishore Kumar' flavour to BRICS 

 The line in the song -- "देर से कितनी दूर खड़ी हो, और करीब आ जाओ" sounded most relevant. 

This was paradoxically more true for India-China relations than between New Delhi and Kualalumpur. 

Now; the decline in India-US ties mark a reversal after years of growing closeness, in large part stemming from their mutual interest in countering China. 

As many as six years after a deadly clash on their mountainous border sent relations between India and China into a deep freeze, Chinese president Xi Jinping came to New Delhi and was an active participant -- shaking hands with PM Narendra Modi and Russian president Vladimir Putin. 

The well perceived 'uncertainty' in each country’s own relationship with the US is a major factor for the same.

India has to readjust in geo-strategic sense as both China and India have been particular targets of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. New Delhi was further as he tried to  promote Pakistan and its army chief. One of the clearest signs of that 're-evaluation' came in 2025, when PM Modi traveled to China for the first time in seven years for SCO meet.

The Indo-US ties was one of the strong points of reference globally since the time of Bill Clinton. It received a big booster during Obama-Manmohan Singh when civil Nuke deal was inked.  

Even under Modi - things continued. Modi handled Obama as well as Joe Biden well despite challenges. Trump too was okay during his first tenure. 

But all that changed in 2025.  Now India’s ties with America have deteriorated sharply over matters that included rancor over India’s purchases of Russian oil and tariffs.  U.S. President Donald Trump made the remark “lost India…to deepest, darkest China” on social media in September 2025 after photos emerged of Narendra Modi laughing with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.  

In September 2026, this has been taken to the next level.  Time and again, the Delhi Summit gave a message that --

Modi, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have 'pledged' mutual cooperation and also would take a lead in taking the BRICS forward as a powerful non-west bloc.

 

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The rivalry between India and China, the world’s largest democracy and largest authoritarian state, dates to the founding of their modern nations in the 1940s. 

They went to war in 1962 and have had several border standoffs.

For China, better ties improve stability on a border that touches two regions where Beijing has long struggled to stamp its full control, Tibet and Xinjiang, 

China has issues about the US. The prospect of improved ties between Washington and Beijing is undercut by the possibility that New Delhi could shift its alignment closer to the US once Trump is out of office.

"There are some signs that the world’s two most populous nations, which also compete to represent the interests of developing economies, are trying to take some baby steps forward on the economic front," says an article in Wall Street Journal.  

 

After the 2020 conflict, India banned Chinese apps. 

New Delhi also made it impossible for Chinese firms to invest in India and increased regulatory scrutiny of those firms that were operating in the country. 

But China's robust position as a manufacturing hub is crucial.

India will need the world’s largest manufacturer if it wants to boost Indian manufacturing. 

India is still a largely untapped market for Chinese consumer goods.

There is room for the countries to do more on the trade. However, there are questions whether the fundamental nature of their relationship would be impacted.

China has a deep relationship with India’s rival Pakistan and this may still continue.