Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the press during his two-day visit to Japan, underscored the strategic importance of closer ties between India and China, calling such cooperation “crucial” for regional peace and prosperity and for restoring balance in the global economy.
Mr. Modi’s remarks come at a time of unprecedented shifts in global trade and diplomacy. With the United States imposing heavy tariffs on Indian and Chinese exports, the Prime Minister argued that the combined weight of the two Asian economies could offer stability to an otherwise turbulent world economic order. “Stable, predictable, and amicable relations between India and China, the world’s two largest nations, will have a positive impact not only on Asia but also on global peace and prosperity,” he said. “This is essential for a truly multi-polar world.”
During his Japan tour, Mr. Modi is scheduled to visit key industrial sites, including a factory producing prototypes of the E10 Shinkansen bullet train technology that India is eager to adopt as part of its high-speed rail expansion. Alongside these visits, India and Japan are expected to sign memoranda of understanding in defense, trade, and technology cooperation, signaling a deepening strategic partnership with Tokyo even as Delhi rebalances its equations with Beijing.
From Japan, the Prime Minister will travel to Tianjin, China, to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The summit, which brings together Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus alongside India and China, comes amid volatile geopolitical challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and America’s protectionist trade policies. Mr. Modi emphasized that such turbulence made it “all the more important for India and China to stand together and work for a rules-based and stable economic order.”
The U.S. decision to impose a 50 percent tariff on Indian exports impacting nearly $48 billion worth of goods has accelerated Delhi’s push to diversify its markets. In parallel, Beijing too is navigating similar challenges due to American restrictions on Chinese imports. Both countries, therefore, find themselves drawn to collaboration, not only as a necessity but as a long-term strategic move. Evidence of this rapprochement has already emerged: earlier this year, the two nations agreed to step up bilateral trade, reopen direct flight routes, and move toward disengagement along the Ladakh border, where tensions had peaked after the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his recent visit to Delhi the first in three years called for India and China to “take the lead in opposing hegemonism and power politics.” His remarks, echoed by President Xi Jinping in subsequent statements, framed the renewed India-China dialogue in symbolic terms: the “dragon and elephant dancing together” to ensure a balanced global order. These gestures, though cautious, indicate a willingness from Beijing to chart a more pragmatic path forward with Delhi.
Looking ahead, sectors such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, and critical mineral supply chains are expected to become focal points of bilateral cooperation. China has already assured India of support in rare earth supplies, a key component in the EV industry. Both nations recognize that their vast consumer markets can significantly boost one another’s economic resilience, particularly as they seek to counterbalance disruptions caused by shifting U.S. policies.
As he prepares for his meeting with President Xi in Tianjin next week, Prime Minister Modi struck a note of guarded optimism. “Given volatility in the world economy, it is important for India and China to work together with a long-term perspective based on mutual interests,” he told Japanese media. “Our responsibility is not only to our people but also to the global community.”
The Tokyo visit, followed by the SCO summit, may mark a pivotal chapter in the evolving India-China relationship one that balances strategic competition with pragmatic cooperation in the interest of wider global stability.