China closely watches US President Donald Trump's visit to India

China is closely watching as American President Donald Trump on Monday commenced his visit to New Delhi and Ahmedabad – a visit, which is likely to see India and the United States once again calling for “free and open” Indo-Pacific, tacitly opposing maritime aggression by the communist country in the region.

Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally at a stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday. They will hold formal talks in New Delhi on Tuesday and stepping up India-US cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region is expected to be on the top of the agenda.

Prime Minister and American US President are expected to reaffirm commitments of India and the US to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. The joint statement, which will be issued after the meeting between the two leaders, will reiterate support for rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes and sustainable and transparent infrastructure investment in Indo-Pacific.

Modi and Trump are also expected to reaffirm that closer India-US cooperation is instrumental in promoting security and prosperity in the broader Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

India-US cooperation in Indo-Pacific is perceived to be intended to respond to the expansionist aspirations of China in the region.

India joined the US, Japan, and Australia in November 2017 to revive the quad in order to counter China’s hegemonic aspirations in Indo-Pacific. 2018, however, saw India tweaking its vision on Indo-Pacific strategy and making it inclusive, obviously just to ensure that it does not appear overtly adversarial to China and derail the process to mend the bilateral ties.

China is keeping a close watch on developments during the US President's visit to India.

China's state-owned newspaper “Global Times” published a commentary on Monday, noting that the US had a “clear strategic definition of India”. It said that the US had “realized all-round cooperation” with India – “in an attempt to boost ties with the South Asian giant and thus neutralize China's influence in the country and in the region.”

The article by columnist Mu Lu argued that India practiced a policy of non-alignment and it was unlikely to make an alliance with the US. “However,” he added, “there is discord in India-China relations with many Indian people vigilant toward China. So, in the current context, if China-India ties cannot move on, the US will take the chance to exert more influence on India and make New Delhi increasingly reliant upon Washington D.C.

Modi and Trump would reaffirm their shared vision for greater connectivity in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific and noted the progress of ongoing initiatives being undertaken by India and by the United States for the development of infrastructure and connectivity in the region.