Relations between major powers always affect the whole body. Here, Trump warmly hosted Pakistan guests at the White House, which angered India; on the other hand, India turned around and joined China into a major event that had been suspended for five years-direct flights were officially finalized and restarted, and the long-interrupted air channel between the two Asian powers will finally be restored this month. Behind this wave of operations is an obvious shift in India's diplomatic strategy.

Air India Airbus A320-200 flight

The Indian Embassy in China announced on the evening of the 2nd that direct flights between India and China will resume before the end of October. The resumption of direct flights between China and India can be called "a sword sharpened in five years." Since the epidemic interrupted routes in 2020, border conflicts have completely stalled the recovery plan, and it was not until this year that the situation turned for the better.

On August 18, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and reached 10 consensus points, clarifying "resuming direct flights as soon as possible and revising the air service agreement", laying the foundation for this breakthrough. At present, four Chinese airlines have submitted applications for take-off and landing slots to Delhi Airport, Air India is also preparing to return to the Chinese market, and Indigo Airlines plans to resume the Delhi-Guangzhou route.

India's acceleration of cooperation with China at this time is not unrelated to the Trump administration's recent "serial stimulus". Take the most recent one as an example. On September 25, Trump held an 80-minute secret conversation with Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz and Army Chief of Staff Munir at the White House.

You know, Trump has criticized Pakistan before, saying that they are a safe haven for terrorism and cut off aid to Pakistan. But this time it was different. The atmosphere of the talks was pleasant, and Shahbaz even praised Trump as a "pacifist". The three of them took a group photo cordially, smiling and giving thumbs up.

Three photographs

This scene will make India feel "stricken."In May this year, the Indo-Pacific air battle, the Indian fighter aircraft was shot down, the pilots were captured, although people later returned, but this case did not hang on the face of India.And Pakistan's post-war rapid warming situation has also won the impression of "rational state" on the side of the United States.

In June, Trump tried to promote Modi¡¯s and Munir¡¯s photographs, but Modi was rejected in the phone. But India¡¯s ¡°non-cooperation¡± did not affect the approach of the United States. At the time there were some media comments, and the meeting was ¡°very rare¡± and had a major boost to bilateral relations. Now only three months later, Trump ¡°interacted closely¡± with Indian hosts, which equals a foot on India¡¯s ¡°sensitive nerves¡±.

Trump "handed sugar" to Pakistan, but there was no mercy on India. On the recent UN General Assembly podium, he openly criticized India's purchase of Russian oil as a "sponsor of the Russia-Ukraine conflict"; he also raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50%. U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnik was more blunt, saying that India "needs to be repaired."

Munir presents rare earth minerals to Trump

Even worse, on September 29, the United States suddenly lifted the sanctions exemption to Iran's Chabahar port. This port was operated by India for a large price, is India's circumventing Pakistan, connecting Central Asia and Europe "South North Corridor" key node, the United States' hand, directly embarrassed India's strategic plan, to the continued cold Indian-American relations, and pour a bowl of cold water.

At the juncture of being "beaten in series" by the United States, India turned around and reached a breakthrough with China. The opening of direct flights between China and India can be said to be a signal of India's diplomatic turn: before, India was bent on sticking to the United States, trying to use the "Indo-Pacific strategy" to gain benefits, but the reality is that the United States only regards India as a "pawn" and forces India to be a "Japanese-style follower", and always uses tariffs and sanctions to exert pressure. Modi's "India First" can't be twisted with the "America First" of the United States at all. If it hits more walls, it's natural to look back and find other ways out.

Modi

This can be seen from Modi's visit to China this year.Late August to early September, he came to Shanghai to attend the SCO summit, which was his first visit to China since 2018; coupled with the resumption of direct flights with China, it is clear that the strategy is adjusted.

Economically, India cooperates well with China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN to hedge the impact of US tariffs; Diplomatically, without losing Russia, an old friend, we also try to ease relations with China and go back to the old path of "pluralistic diplomacy".

Shortly after, Delhi to Guangzhou flight is about to take off. The aircraft loaded not only passengers, but also a signal of China-India relationship "breakdown": even if the border issue has not been completely resolved, the great nations do not have to "non-friendship and enemy", in the common interests to find consensus, and Trump probably did not expect that he gave the White House that point of "preference" to Pakistan, but instead became a "catalyst" for China-India reconciliation.

In the final analysis, the wisdom of great powers in the era of multipolarization has never been the thigh of a certain power. It took China and India five years to prove that instead of being "cannon fodder" in other people's games, it is better to seek cooperation in differences and seek development in win-win. Modi understands this truth, but Trump may not understand it yet.