President Joe Biden waited until the eve of the Chinese Lunar Year shutdown and celebration to schedule and complete a conversation with Xi Jinping of China. What was noted prominently in India was that the conversaton with Prime Minister Narendra Modi happened first. On the American side it is important to note that a few days earlier the USS McCain, a naval destroyer ship sailed through the Taiwan straits to assert the right that these are international waters and conscious of Chinese protests to the contrary.
In the White House read out of the conversation there was little room for any give on American side, after the courtesy New Year greeting, bolding is mine:
President Biden affirmed his priorities of protecting the American people’s security, prosperity, health, and way of life, and preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. President Biden underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan. The two leaders also exchanged views on countering the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shared challenges of global health security, climate change, and preventing weapons proliferation.
President Biden committed to pursuing practical, results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American people and those of our allies.
Why it matters to US-India relations
This assures Indian and India watchers that the Biden administration will not relent on the tough stand with Beijing. It further reinforces the point that the United States will rally allies and like minded countries such as India in a coordinated response to Chinese belligerence in its surrounding areas.
Trade between India and the United Stated is back at pre-pandemic levels and we expect that more American companies will turn to India as an alternate supplier to U.S companies and consumers.
