Modi Crawls to Beijing as Trump Cancels India Visit: India’s Foreign Policy Unravels

Reading Time: 3 minutes For nearly a decade, New Delhi has promoted the image of a rising India—America’s chosen partner, Asia’s counterweight to China, and South Asia’s natural leader. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, diplomacy became a stage performance, with choreographed hugs, diaspora rallies, and slogans about a “New India” destined for global greatness. Yet the façade is cracking. Modi’s hasty trip to Beijing and U.S. President Donald Trump’s cancellation of his New Delhi summit lay bare a foreign policy in retreat. India finds itself dependent on China for trade, dismissed by Washington on tariffs and defence, and increasingly distrusted by its neighbours—including Bangladesh. Beijing Beckons, But Out of Compulsion For years, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) boasted of standing firm against China. But the 2017 Doklam standoff and 2020 Galwan clashes ended with China entrenching its advantage along the frontier. While Indian television spun tales of “victory,” Beijing quietly