despite announcing a peace after a big earthquake in March, the Myanmar junta has continued a deadly martial campaign, including strikes and artillery attack, according to the United Nations and information from a crisis check. The Mar 28 earthquake, the worst natural disaster to strike the poor country in years,Continue Reading
TOKYO – Asia is breathing somewhat easier as Donald Trump confronts the limits of his ability to self-immolate the US economy.
Amid historically free-falling markets and an Oval Office intervention by the CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot, the US president is watering down a tariff policy, including a 145% levy on China, that’s already rocked the global economy.
It’s unclear whether the climbdown, where Trump said this week he would “substantially” pare back tariffs on China in a trade deal, is real or lasting. On Thursday, he blasted China anew on social media for canceling delivery of Boeing-made jets and its role in the continued flow of fentanyl into the US.
But as Trump flinches, it’s clear his inner circle is distressed by how catastrophically the tariff policy is going down with markets. Many are coming to the conclusion that the Trump White House’s standing will never be the same on Wall Street.
Asian leaders are right to smell blood in the water. In the short run, Japan and South Korea can take a beat as Trump World tries to rally fleeing global investors back around the dollar and US Treasuries.
For one thing, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo now understand just how badly Trump needs a win, any win, on the trade front. This gives two of North Asia’s biggest economies greater leverage in talks than they had just a week ago.
For another, Xi Jinping now knows that China’s decision to push back instead of bowing to Trump’s threats and demands is paying off spectacularly. So is President Xi’s free-trade charm offensive from East to West as Trump torches friend and foe alike with arbitrary tariffs and bullying rhetoric.
Asian leaders now have scope to take a breath and regroup as Trump’s tariffs — particularly his 145% tax on China — trigger what Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives calls an “Armageddon scenario” for the US.
Recent reports of dissension in Trump’s top ranks shed light on his apparent pivot on “Liberation Day” tariffs. They include clashes between anti-China trade advisor Peter Navarro and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spilling out into the open on a near-daily basis.
Yet Trump “blinked” first in his trade war, says economist David Rosenberg, founder of Rosenberg Research. The same goes for Trump backing away from earlier threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering rates as recession risks flash red.
“The blinking that the president is busily doing on trade and Powell has unleashed a follow-through on the short-covering rally,” Rosenberg says.
Trump pivoting first contrasts markedly with what China is saying. As Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun puts it: “China’s attitude towards the tariff war launched by the US is quite clear: We don’t want to fight, but we are not afraid of it. If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is wide open.”
To be sure, Beijing is reportedly considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports to limit economic fallout. Bloomberg reported today (April 25) that Beijing may remove additional levies on US-made medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, as well as waive tariffs on plane leases.
But the last month has shown what it looks like when an unstoppable force like Trump meets an immovable object like Xi’s China. But Trump just demonstrated that his pain threshold for tariffs is Wall Street-dependent.
It was headlines about the many trillions of dollars in stock losses, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon being unhappy and Goldman Sachs talking recession that had the self-proclaimed “Tariff Man” changing his tune.
The only thing falling faster than the US dollar is Trump’s economic approval rating at home. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll puts it at 37% while roughly 75% of American adults worry recession is imminent.
Confidence is likely to fall even more precipitously as American households see their retirement account statements and feel tariffs boosting prices across the board. Market volatility also forced Trump to throttle back on plans to fire Powell, at least for now.
If you’re happy “just because Trump said he isn’t going to fire Powell in an era in which the independence of central banks is going to be called into question by the demands of realpolitik, or because he said something nice about China and tariffs for the nth time as the world starts to divide along geopolitical lines, well clearly you enjoy fairy tales,” says Michael Every, global strategist at Rabobank.
At a business forum this week, veteran investment strategist Jim Paulsen said that “almost every corporate CEO is revising down their outlook. The commentary warnings of the corporate sector have escalated.”
Some titans of finance think many peers are being too dramatic about what damage Trump 2.0 might do in the long run. As C S Venkatakrishnan, CEO of Barclays, tells Bloomberg: “It’s 100 years of dollar strength, so much so that important commodities — gold, oil — are denominated in dollars. I think undoing that will take a long, long time.”
Yet Wedbush’s Ives speaks for many when he says Trump’s tariffs, and the chaos surrounding their implementation, “will go down as the worst US policy mistake” since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which amplified the Great Depression.
China’s Commerce Ministry has been making a similar point, calling the US tariff moves “a mistake on top of a mistake.”
Then, after the US president vowed to ratchet up tariffs again this week, Beijing once again vowed to hold the line.
It has since clashed with Trump by insisting no trade talks are underway, which the US leader has insisted are happening behind the scenes without naming who was involved.
At a forum in Washington sponsored by Semafor this week, Citadel CEO and founder Ken Griffin warned that a Trump reversal might be too little, too late. Before the tariffs, “no brand compared” to US Treasurys, the dollar or the creditworthiness of the biggest economy. That’s now been “eroded” in short order.
“We put that brand at risk,” the billionaire hedge fund manager said. “It can be a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done.”
The financial dust cloud Trump leaves behind could play into Asia’s hands as trade negotiations are expected to heat up in coming weeks amid a 90-day pause on the imposition of his reciprocal tariffs on all global nations.
China now knows, for example, that the bond market can rattle Trump. The recent surge in yields clearly unnerved Trump’s inner circle.
And it put on display the extent to which the US is just as vulnerable as it’s perceived to be strong. Beijing holds some US$760 billion of US Treasuries.
Chinese state media regularly discusses the idea of selling, or scaling back purchases, as a retaliation tool some market watchers believe Beijing quietly did soon after Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement.
It’s all making Trump desperate to change the narrative with a big trade deal win. The first opportunity on that front is Japan.
Of course, Team Trump is trying to put on a brave face. Asked on Wednesday whether Trump had unilaterally offered to de-escalate trade tensions with China, Treasury head Bessent claimed “not at all.”
“As I’ve said many times, I don’t think either side believes that the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way,” Bessent said.
One possible takeaway from Bessent’s comments is that they “underscored that the United States is not aiming to decouple from China,” says Thomas Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors.
Lee points to Trump’s press secretary claiming there are “ongoing trade discussions with 34 countries and referencing President Trump’s optimistic outlook regarding a potential deal with China.”
Yet the lack of progress with Japan could be a warning sign for the White House.
Last week, Navarro tried to suggest a bilateral Japan deal was imminent. It was his Exhibit A for the argument that Trump’s “90 deals in 90 days” pledge remains operational.
Yet Navarro was left holding only his ego when Tokyo reported that Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei was already back home with no deal in sight.
Seeing Trump caving this week, why wouldn’t Ishiba slow things down even further? This strategy worked well for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019. Back then, the late Abe signed a bilateral deal that Trump touted as “phenomenal.”
But, in reality, Japan gave up less on agriculture than it had as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral free trade pact that Trump scrapped. Autos were excluded and everything from pharmaceuticals to financial services was left to a future date.
The end result was negligible in altering US-Japan trade dynamics and “was a poignant reminder of how much President Trump gave away when he turned his back on the TPP,” observed economist Matthew Goodman, who at the time was at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
It’s also a timely reminder of how far Ishiba can get with some flattery and moving slowly. Presumably, Trump’s inner circle is aware that Japan outmaneuvered Trump 1.0, just as China is so far getting the better of Trump 2.0.
But Trump World also knows the illusion of pulling off the “art of the deal” with Japan could be packaged as a badly needed trade war win.
Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), after all, faces a tough national election in July. And with approval ratings around 26%, Ishiba can hardly appear to be getting fleeced by a Trump White House with no allies among major economies.
Any perception that Ishiba gave away too much to Trump could usher his LDP out of power a few months from now. Tokyo knows, too, that if they lather Trump with concessions, he’ll likely be back for more in short order.
South Korea’s negotiations could go a similar way. At the moment, Bessent is suggesting that US-Korea talks “may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week.”
Perhaps. But just like China and Japan, South Korea has good reason to think its negotiating position is improving as Trump’s global standing and trade war credibility falls by the day.
Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek
Although South Asia has experienced some political bulwarks, New Delhi’s most recent move may have spelled out a risky new chapter of geographical brinkmanship.
India unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty ( IWT ) with Pakistan, a cornerstone of bilateral cooperation for more than 60 years, on April 23 just one day after a deadly terrorist attack in the Kashmir-administered region, killing 26 people.
The decision was made in addition to the closing of a significant border crossing, the termination of Pakistani citizens ‘ regional immigration privileges, and the deterioration of diplomatic ties. With liquid at the center of what started out as a drama at Kashmir’s Pahalgam hill station and then having the opposite effect, it is quickly turning into a political crisis.
Kashmir Weight, a violent organization that claims responsibility, is a common name in a region full of acronyms and confusion.
However, India has taken a number of punitive measures that target Pakistan’s monetary arteries and, more dangerously, its waters lifeline without providing any practical evidence of external involvement.
Fears of an escalation are now growing in Islamabad, according to press reports. Social insiders and national security officials worry that India might consider engaging in punishing military action once more, in a similar vein to the Pulwama-Balakot incident in 2019, in which 40 Indian paramilitary staff were killed in an attack on which India responded with cross-border strikes.
Pakistan then launched its own airstrikes, and for a quick, menacing moment, the region sank on the verge of a full-fledged conflict between two nuclear powers.
Major military and civilian officials from Pakistan’s government met for an emergency meeting of its National Security Committee on April 24. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called out India’s actions as “premature and provocative,” noting that no evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attack has been made public.
The Indus Waters Treaty itself, however, is the true powder tank.
The convention has been a unique, resilient bridge between two nuclear-armed foes, as it was mediated by the World Bank in 1960. The Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab river, which account for nearly 80 % of Pakistan’s water supply, are distributed according to their rules.
However, the Indus Waters Treaty is not a typical diplomatic deal. Because it is a part of global laws, it cannot be. Pakistan can make a compelling argument that it is in the international community’s best interest to preserve partnerships made through meticulous politics.
This is philosophical, not just a political complexity. The Indus program is a major source of power for all four of Pakistan’s counties. Pakistan’s vulnerability is normal, absolute, and agricultural with few other sources, most prominently a few Afghan rivers.
Not only for Pakistan but for the entire place, the increase is deeply disturbing. More than any other asset, water reveals the power imbalance between upstream and downstream says in South Asia.
India’s decision to “hold the treaty in abeyance,” a legitimate grey area without any real precedent, creates a disturbing example. In a time of grief and anger, it weaponizes a shared tool, undermining both local norms and international legislation.
For its part, New Delhi has not been overly diplomatic about its long-standing frustration with the convention. It fully sent a notice to Islamabad last year asking for a revision of the terms, which Pakistan quickly rejected.
The coercive “abeyance” of this week appears to be an illegal attempt to put Pakistan on the defensive. Beyond the constitutional posturing, there is a more nuanced calculus, known as financial attrition.
Analysts believe that India’s overall intention is to stifle Pakistan’s now depressed economy, especially its agriculture, which is largely dependent on the Indus River system.
Practically speaking, withholding water may require a large amount of equipment on a scale that isn’t currently in place. Even if these projects were started soon, they may require years and billion to be realized.
Also, symbolism has the potential to be effective. Yet symbolic techniques may have long and short tempers in South Asia, where recollections are long and emotions are small.
And what guarantees do the region’s smaller North Asian countries, like Bangladesh and Nepal, have?
A collective message from South Asia’s louder regions, such as Dhaka, Colombo, and Kathmandu, is now desperately needed to convince New Delhi and Islamabad of their obligations to the wider South Asian area.
The continent cannot afford for diplomacy to be stricken by fractious politics, and rivers to be used as retaliators.
Muktadir Rashid serves as Bangla Outlook, a media website based in Dhaka.
A 20-year-old American YouTuber and digital star named ShowSpeed just live-streamed hourslong tour of Chinese locations, including Beijing and Shanghai, to show his almost 40 million viewers the locations.
IShowSpeed, whose true name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., admired friendly locals, flawless streets, and the high-speed Wi-Fi on the train, and Chinese fans heckled him for selfies on the Great Wall during the March activities.
Beijing’s state media seized the spotlight, with one Foreign blog claiming that the American apex had “eliminated all American misinformation about China” in the eye of a new era.
This analysis is confirmed by IShowSpeed’s YouTube site.
One leading comment reads,” China is therefore underappreciated wtf.” Another person writes,” I realized how foolish my earlier sights on China were after watching this picture.”
Such feedback don’t provide any information. However, as someone who studies the impact of Chinese soft strength, I find the sight of a young American burning China’s picture to Western audiences to be incredibly important.
It provides an illustration of how smooth energy standards have been altered in recent years, and how China appears to be having some success appealing to the world’s children.
Soft power refers to a nation’s capacity to shape people’s preferences through society, values, and diplomatic relations by influencing others through attraction rather than coercion. The phrase was coined by political professor Joseph Nye to describe how nations job authority by imposing demands on others through military or economic stress.
US sweet energy didn’t have to make that much of itself throughout the Cold War and into the 21st century. It exploded from surge boxes after being broadcast on MTV and sported fabric. Rock music crossed the Iron Curtain when politics don’t, with painters like Madonna and Bruce Springsteen reaching Russian children more efficiently than any adviser.
And in China, Michael Jackson gained a following also before McDonald’s or Hollywood films, bringing about a beautiful, open America that so many people desired.
American society wasn’t really leisure to some growing up in China in the 1990s; it was persuasion, aspiration, and even subversion.
The US is still, of course, a cultural powerhouse, and American actors and musicians are still recognizable all over the world. However, there are indications that China is attempting to erode that position.
Take the movie. Chinese movies were once viewed as niche films in other countries. An animated Chinese feature film called” Ne Zha 2” broke box office records in January 2025. A stunning retelling of a mythic boy-god’s story, the film has grossed an astonishing US$$ 2 billion worldwide, outperforming many Hollywood studios.
It is now the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and it was produced by a Chinese studio with hundreds of local animators.
Beijing made a quick decision to incorporate” Ne Zha 2″ as a representation of China’s creative rise and” soft power moment” in terms of culture. The success of the movie was praised by state media as evidence that Chinese folklore and artistry can captivate audiences around the world just as effectively as Marvel superheroes.
” Ne Zha 2″ isn’t a one-off. The Beijing-based Wanda Films ‘” Detective Chinatown 1900,” which was released in January, is the year’s third-highest-grossing film to date.
Hollywood, which was once confident in its cultural monopoly, now faces a massive new rival on the global stage, one supported by 1.4 billion people and a government determined to overthrow Western pop culture dominance. Additionally, there are some international audiences. Ne Zha 2 also had a positive impact when it first aired in the US.
Additionally, it includes non-profits.
Video games have been a stronghold in American and Japanese culture for decades. Black Myth: Wukong, a Chinese-developed game that was created by a Hangzhou studio, has become popular worldwide.
When its first gameplay trailers for Black Myth: Wukong first appeared in 2020, they were so popular that they were immediately followed along with its promising AAA-level graphics and action that drew inspiration from China’s well-known” Journey to the West” tale.
Skeptics questioned whether the finished product could quite possibly compete with the likes of the well-known series God of War or the Elden Ring in George R. R. Martin’s style. But those doubts vanished when the game finally debuted in 2024. In the summer of 2024, Black Myth: Wukong debuted to a great deal of worldwide support, instantly claiming a spot alongside the biggest Western franchises.
It is China’s first true blockbuster video game, and it is evidence that the nation can produce world-class entertainment, according to critics all over the world.
It’s about narrative power for the Chinese state, according to me, not just about snagging titles in China’s gaming industry.
Instead of, say, a Marvel superhero or a Tolkien epic, millions of young people around the world subtly shift the cultural center of gravity eastward as they spend 30 or 40 hours a week immerse in Sun Wukong’s adventures.
It suggests that Chinese myths are evolving to appeal to people around the world as cool as Western ones. And that is soft power.
In the meantime, another Chinese export has deeply ingrained itself into global culture on the smaller screens we carry in our pockets: TikTok.
TikTok has over 1.6 billion monthly users in over 160 countries as of 2025.
TikTok’s cultural reach is even more impressive. The app’s algorithm has helped songs by musicians from South Korea or Nigeria reach the top of the global charts, and it has inspired grandmothers in Italy to try Mexican recipes from grandmothers in Italy who were previously featured on a popular Chinese app. Teenagers in Kansas are learning Indonesian dance moves.
In essence, TikTok has created a brand-new transnational pop culture commons, one that is owned by a Beijing-based business. Yes, users all create the content on TikTok, not dictated by the Chinese government, but the platform’s very existence is a testament to Chinese tech entrepreneurship and global ambition.
Every second spent scrolling TikTok by Western youths is a moment they are residing in a cultural sphere created by China. It’s no wonder the US government is worried about TikTok’s influence because it’s about cultural security more than just data security.
Since outright banning it has proven to be politically challenging, TikTok has continued to steadily firmly established itself as a staple of global youth culture.
Blockbuster movies, popular video games, and viral apps all feature a larger truth: China is rapidly gaining soft power as America runs the risk of letting its own erode. China expands its influence through the Belt and Road Initiative and development loans at a time when the US reduces foreign aid.
And while the US enacts visa restrictions for students and scientists, China’s universities, some of which are now in the top 20 on the world, are becoming more appealing.
It is notoriously difficult to assess the impact of soft power because most countries that use it play a very long game.
Beijing’s push for soft power is not guaranteed to succeed everywhere. Many societies continue to doubt Beijing’s intentions, and its authoritarian system limits the appeal of its political model in democratic societies.
However, there are obvious indications that younger generations are buying into China’s cultural exports.
The US once almost automatically set the pace for global culture. However, as China invests a lot in its creative industries and digital platforms, it is increasingly shaping the narrative and themes for a growing global audience.
The question is no longer whether China has the ability to compete for soft power power, but whether America has a strategy to hold its ground.
Shaoyu Yuan is a research scientist at Rutgers University – Newark’s Division of Global Affairs.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the text of the article.
SINGAPORE: The race for the 2025 General Election kicked off in earnest on Wednesday (Apr 23), living up to its billing as one of Singapore’s most keenly contested elections after a Nomination Day chock-full of surprises. This was largely due to last-minute tactical manoeuvering by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
The PAP moved some of its big guns around while leaving the opposition parties guessing till the eleventh hour whether Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean would be fielded. In the end, both were not.
The Workers’ Party also did the unexpected by moving former Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Member of Parliament Faisal Manap to lead its Tampines GRC team. Prominent new face Harpreet Singh was fielded in the new Punggol GRC, while the party turned to an old hand, former Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong, to lead its campaign in East Coast GRC.
It also made a surprise move not to contest in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, handing PAP a walkover in the five-member GRC.
After the dust settled on an eventful and rainy Nomination Day, this was the picture that emerged:
There will be two independent candidates in Radin Mas Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Mountbatten SMC.
Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC was a walkover for PAP after a no-contest, the first in a GE since 2011.
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng was the anchor minister for the GRC in the last GE and was expected to lead the PAP’s charge there again. Even he had expected to do so, until just hours before the nomination proceedings.
Dr Tan told the media that he was informed on Wednesday morning that he would be redeployed in Chua Chu Kang GRC. Dr Tan replaced Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong who moved to Punggol GRC to fend off the WP challenge.
Speaking to the media, DPM Gan said that “plans are always made depending on availability of candidates; we always need to make adjustments”.
Soon after a walkover was declared in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, WP put up a statement by party chief Pritam Singh on the “very difficult decision” not to contest there.
In the last GE in 2020, a WP team led by Mr Yee contested what was then Marine Parade GRC, garnering 42.26 per cent of the vote against PAP’s 57.74 per cent.
Referring to the redrawn electoral boundaries for the GRC that saw the absorption of Macpherson SMC and other changes, Mr Singh said: “As a small opposition party, we are constantly faced with difficult choices about where and how best to deploy our limited resources, particularly after electoral boundaries are redrawn.
“After much reflection and careful consideration, we have determined that in order to continue fighting for the principles and changes we all believe in, and to give our candidates the best chance of electoral success, the party must focus its best efforts this GE on a smaller number of constituencies than we would have hoped to contest.”
Speaking to reporters later, the WP chief was asked whether the decision was a miscalculation given that it gave the PAP a walkover.
In response, Mr Singh said: “I’m sure the PAP was watching who was going to Marine Parade as well, so these decisions also were taken, as you would have realised, over the hour between nomination opening and nomination closing.”
He added: “So, it’s not a case as if everyone knew in advance that the PAP would field … I’m not going to say it’s a weakened slate because there are no such thing as weak candidates in my view.
“It’s going to be a very tough election for us. I’m sure they were watching where we were going, but this is what we’ve decided to do.”
In contrast to the walkover in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, five other constituencies will be intensely fought by more than two parties.
Tampines GRC will be the battleground of a four-way contest among PAP, WP, People’s Power Party and National Solidarity Party (NSP).
Over in Sembawang GRC, PAP will be in a three-way tussle with NSP and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), while in Ang Mo Kio GRC, PAP will face off against PPP and Singapore United Party.
Two single-seat wards will also see three-way fights: Potong Pasir and Radin Mas.
In Potong Pasir, PAP’s Alex Yeo will be up against PAR chief Lim Tean and SPP’s Williiamson Lee.
The Radin Mas contest will feature independent candidate Darryl Lo against PAP’s Melvin Yong and the People’s Alliance for Reform’s Kumar Appavoo.
Mr Lo is one of two independent candidates who have tossed their names in the hat this General Election. The other is Mr Jeremy Tan, who will mount a challenge against PAP candidate Gho Sze Kee in Mountbatten.
With their successful nominations, all parties and candidates now enter the official campaign period, which will last for nine days.
The terms of reference for the upcoming free trade agreement negotiations were finalized this month between India and the US. A comprehensive strategy is anticipated to guide the strategy, which will improve industry access, tariff reductions and non-tariff barriers, and establish a strong, integrated supply chain.  ,
Donald Trump’s” Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 cannot be more confining for most nations, including India. The impact of Trump’s 26 % tax on India will not only negatively impact Indian exports, but it will also cast doubt on its ability to adapt rapidly to the fundamental realignment of global supply chains, which Trump’s punitive tariffs aim to necessarily change.  ,
The volume of taxes and counter-tariffs has been reduced to mere amounts as the situation evolves. Hope for a quick, US-China deal to end business disputes have almost vanished.
The 90-day delay on reciprocal taxes is a break for most countries, except for China, which is subject to a staggering 145 % income. In this ambiguous environment, no government would dare to make long-term plans. International trade is being rewritten in some ways in real-time.
Two recent events have suggested that Trump’s position has slightly cooled. He put a 90-day delay to the higher mutual tariffs on the targeted nations so they could deal with the US on April 11 and then put it on hold until China. He made the announcement on April 13 that tariff deductions for items like phones, computers, and other electronics are available in the US.
Additionally, tariffs on pharmaceuticals are a looming risk, which, if implemented, do have a near-doom effect on India’s economy. According to some estimates, India could be liable to lose about 30 % of its exports to the US alone.
India should not rejoice at the fact that China ( 145 % ), Vietnam ( 46 % ), Thailand ( 36 % ), Cambodia ( 49 % ), Indonesia ( 32 % ) and Bangladesh ( 37 % ) have been hit with higher impositions. However, India has trade opportunities and a lot of market space in the form of semiconductors and machinery, among others.
India should see the new fact being imposed by Trump as both a challenge and an option. In some ways, India is in a similar position to 1991, when the land was practically forced to open up due to diminishing foreign exchange reserves.
The new US tax regime and its battle with China offer an opportunity to reevaluate opportunities, discover weak points, and deal with its monetary policy demons.
Many Indians are unrealistically putting their hopes on a landmark Bilateral Trade Agreement ( BTA ) with the US to rescue this mess. India’s strategy to free trade agreements, while faced with an extremely mercantilist global trading system, will still be supported by its multi-vector international policy and its unwavering support for a multi-polar world.
India may now think betrayed by the US after what transpired following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attend to the US in February of this year, despite the absence of a public demonstration of dissention.
During his check-out,” Mission 500,” which aimed to double bilateral trade to US$ 500 billion by 2030, was discussed and discussed. In that regard, a determination was made to finalize the second stage of a mutually advantageous BTA by the fall of 2025.
Trump officially criticized India for being a “tariff prince” and a “big perpetrator” of trade relations just before announcing the new mutual tax government on April 2. This is in contrast to what he has been saying for a while.
India courted the US in the wake of that visit and the” Liberation Day” price announcement, signaling its commitment to US energy imports and serious defense talks with Washington.
India hastily eliminated the 6 % online advertising income and cut taxes on solar panels, luxury cars, bourbon whiskey, and a few other items in preparation for the BTA. Elon Musk’s Starlink was also suggested by India that it might be approved in India. Despite all those early concessions, India, like most other countries, continued to be subject to the reciprocal and baseline tariffs.
A trade agreement, in Trump’s opinion, is an instrument to improve self-reliance and shift the balance of trade. The US is currently pressuring India to open its politically sensitive agricultural and dairy sectors in trade negotiations.
The US and India also have a number of ticklish issues, including stringent approval standards for genetically modified products, strict licensing, and enforcement of intellectual property rights.  ,
India’s response has been more or less predictable. It will almost certainly not produce dairy and agricultural products, giving itself a bargaining chip for future negotiations. India will likely agree to increase the imports of US-made defense equipment and energy products to combat the negative trade balance.
In industries like pharmaceuticals and autos, where it already enjoys low costs and a strong manufacturing base, it might even consider 0 % tariff. Beyond this, it’s difficult to see India giving in to any more concessions.
However, India might face difficulties from rival nations that are also dealing with higher US tariffs, such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, and others. China has reacted by imposing similarly high counter-tariffs, but Vietnam has reacted by signaling it will drop all tariffs to 0 % in order to reach a trade agreement with the US.  ,
A senior Vietnamese official, who was recently on an official trip to the US, pledged to start negotiations for a free trade agreement and the purchase of US defense supplies. Additionally, he made an announcement about Vietnam’s intention to purchase$ 300 million worth of Boeing aircraft for its VietJet commercial airline. The US tariffs are undoubtedly bargaining chips.
India’s low dependence on exports of goods may seem advantageous in its negotiations with the US, but because of Vietnam’s precedent-setting commitment to 0 % tariffs on all US imports, India should be prepared for US expectations for a similar deal.
Given the length of these negotiations so far with the UK, EU, and US in particular, India should at best be cautiously optimistic about outcomes, especially given that ongoing trade talks with the US did not protect it from Trump’s high reciprocal tariffs.
As a general rule, an emerging market like India shouldn’t be concerned about a respectable trade deficit as long as it benefits from a BTA, boosts its exports, overall trade, and introduces new technologies and investments. However, India needs to be aware that a free trade agreement on its own won’t address India’s structural issues. It is entirely up to India to address them both at once.
Thus, India should take advantage of Trump’s tariff crisis as a unique opportunity to unilaterally lower global tariffs to increase competitiveness. This in turn will encourage the flow of superior foreign technologies, which will improve productivity and quality and boost national exports, especially those from emerging industries. Only then will India be able to take advantage of the opportunities Trump’s global supply chain disruptions offer.
Will India seize the opportunity, is the debatable question? Or will it once more go missing? How successfully India maneuvers the looming, negative effects of Trump’s tariffs depend not only on how quickly it negotiates a bilateral free trade agreement with the US, but also on how other nations bargain with the US over tariffs.
The key to a successful FTA with the US is to conclude, but the bigger question for India is how quickly it can increase its manufacturing capacity, adopt smart technologies, train skilled workers, construct modern logistical infrastructure, and pass progressive regulatory changes that can adapt to newly emerging global value chain alignments.
Only when global supply chains actually feed and integrate into Indian manufacturing can India count on being well-positioned to become a major global manufacturing and export hub in the upcoming years and ultimately a net-net Trump trade war winner.
Raghu Gururaj, an Indian Foreign Service officer, is a retired ambassador. He has his own opinions expressed here.
Pepper Labs has embarked on a collaboration with Microsoft to expand the AI for Malaysia’s Future ( AIForMYFuture ) initiative, a skilling programme designed to democratise artificial intelligence ( AI ) fluency across Malaysia. In a statement, the business said this marriage underscores a shared responsibility to generate AI leveling opportunities, contributing to the programme’s total target of equipping 800,000 individuals with AI knowledge by 2025.
As AI continues to change business and markets, Malaysia stands at a critical stage where Artificial knowledge is key to unlocking future prospects. AIForMYFuture aims to bridge the Artificial information space, ensuring Malaysians from all walks of life – civil servants, students, children, teachers, grassroots communities, entrepreneurs, professionals in major industries, and corporate leaders– are prepared to liquidity AI for growth, innovation, and societal advancement.
This program aligns with prime minister Anwar Ibrahim’s perception, which underscores the importance of AI implementation in government services and community to generate Malaysia’s modern transformation agenda.
The initiative provides accessible AI education, focusing on foundational knowledge, ethical AI use, and practical applications. Designed to reach diverse audiences, the programme integrates hands-on training and self-paced digital learning modules to make AI knowledge easily understandable and widely available.
Through this collaboration, Microsoft brings its world-class AI modules and expertise, while Pepper Labs activates its extensive and diverse strategic network to ensure maximum outreach and impact. By working closely with stakeholders across various sectors, Pepper Labs will drive nationwide adoption of AI fluency.
According to Pepper Labs, collaboration with key government agencies and community groups has already begun delivering impactful results. These include AI skilling for officials from the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of National Unity, National Audit Department, Prime Minister’s Department, Department of Federal Territories, Fire and Rescue Department, Bank Simpanan Nasional, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, as well as community organisations such as Komuniti Rukun Tetangga and teacher networks throughout Malaysia. These efforts reflect Pepper Labs ’ continued dedication to empowering Malaysians through inclusive and accessible learning opportunities.
“Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index shows that 84 % of Malaysian knowledge workers are already using AI at work. This demonstrates that AI fluency is no longer a luxury – it ’s a necessity, ” said Adilah Junid, director of legal and government affairs at Microsoft Malaysia. “We are working with Pepper Labs to expand AIForMYFuture to provide inclusive opportunities for AI skilling to an even larger group of people, ensuring that Malaysians, regardless of their background, are equipped with the knowledge to thrive in an AI-driven future. ”
Echoing this sentiment, Ir. Kuhan Pathy, founder of Pepper Labs, stated: “At Pepper Labs, we believe in harnessing technology for good. By leveraging our deep-rooted networks and commitment to social impact, we aim to empower communities, educators, and businesses to embrace AI with confidence. ”
As Malaysia moves towards becoming a digitally progressive nation, AIForMYFuture invites organisations, educators, and individuals to be part of this transformative journey. Together, we can build a future where AI is an enabler for all. Malaysians can get started on their AI fluency learning pathways for free today by visiting: https ://microsoft. pepperlabs. my.
Pope Francis gave his first-ever meeting on China and the Chinese people on January 28, 2016, to then-Asia Times journalist and China Renmin University senior scientist Francesco Sisci. The Pope urged the world not to worry China ’s rapid rise in a traditional one-hour appointment at the Vatican.
He said the Taiwanese people are in a good time and delivered a message of hope, peace and reconciliation as an alternative to battle, hot or cold. The pope even sent Foreign New Year’s welcome to the Chinese people and President Xi Jinping, the first extended by a Pope to a Chinese president for the Lunar New Year in 2,000 years.
Sisci’s special interview took place in a Vatican house decorated with a mural of the Holy Mary Undoer of Knots, in which she performs the mystery of untying difficult twists. It is republished here on the situation of the Pope’s departure.
ROME– He felt it quickly, or but I sensed, and he tried to put me at ease. He was best. I was in fact frightened. I had spent long periods hammering down every aspect of the questions I was going to ask, and he had wanted time to think and churned them over.
I asked for an appointment on broad social and intellectual issues concerning all Taiwanese, of which over 99 % are no Catholic. I did n’t like to touch on religious or political concerns, of which another Popes, at other times had spoken.
I hoped he could present to frequent Chinese his enormous animal emotion by speaking for the first time ever on issues that worry them regularly – the rupture of the classic relatives, their difficulties in being understood and understanding the western world, their sense of guilt from earlier experiences such as the Cultural Revolution, etc. He did it and gave the Chinese and citizens concerned about China ’s hard fall motives for hope, peace and mediation with each other.
The Pope believes the Chinese are in a good action. He says they should not be scared of this, nor does the rest of the world. He also believes the Chinese have a wonderful legacy of knowledge that will strengthen them and everyone and will support all to find a quiet way ahead. This appointment is, in some respect, the Pope’s manner of blessing China.
Sisci: What is China for you? How did you think China to become as a young man, given that China, for Argentina, is not the East but the far West? What does Matteo Ricci mean to you?
Pope Francis : For me, China has always been a research point of glory. A wonderful country. But more than a state, a wonderful culture, with an unlimited wisdom. For me, as a child, whenever I read something about China, it had the ability to persuade my enthusiasm. I have enthusiasm for China.
Eventually, I looked into Matteo Ricci’s career and I saw how this man felt the same thing in the specific method I did, admiration, and how he was able to enter into speech with this wonderful society, with this age-old knowledge. He was able to “encounter ” it.
When I was young, and China was spoken of, we thought of the Great Wall. The rest was not known in my homeland. But as I looked more and more into the matter, I had an experience of encounter which was very different, in time and manner, to that experienced by Ricci.
Yet I came across something I had not expected. Ricci’s experience teaches us that it is necessary to enter into dialogue with China, because it is an accumulation of wisdom and history. It is a land blessed with many things. And the Catholic Church, one of whose duties is to respect all civilizations, before this civilization, I would say, has the duty to respect it with a capital “R. ” The Church has great potential to receive culture.
The other day I had the opportunity to see the paintings of another great Jesuit, Giuseppe Castiglione– who also had the Jesuit virus ( laughs ). Castiglione knew how to express beauty, the experience of openness in dialogue: receiving from others and giving of one’s self on a wavelength that is “civilized ” of civilizations.
When I say “civilized”, I do not mean only “educated ” civilizations, but also civilizations that encounter one another. Also, I don’t know whether it is true but they say that Marco Polo was the one who brought pasta noodles to Italy ( laughs ). So it was the Chinese who invented them. I don’t know if this is true. But I say this in passing.
This is the impression I have, great respect. And more than this, when I crossed China for the first time, I was told in the aircraft: “Within ten minutes we will enter Chinese airspace, and send your greeting”. I confess that I felt very emotional, something that does not usually happen to me. I was moved to be flying over this great richness of culture and wisdom.
Sisci: China, for the first time in its thousands of years of history, is emerging from its own environment and opening to the world, creating unprecedented challenges for itself and for the world. You have spoken of a third world war that is furtively advancing: what challenges does this present in the quest for peace?
Pope Francis : Being afraid is never a good counselor. Fear is not a good counselor. If a father and a mother are fearful when they have an adolescent son, they will not know how to deal with him well.
In other words, we must not fear challenges of any kind, since everyone, male and female, has within them the capacity to find ways of co-existing, of respect and mutual admiration. And it is obvious that so much culture and so much wisdom, and in addition, so much technical knowledge – we have only to think of age-old medicinal techniques– cannot remain enclosed within a country; they tend to expand, to spread, to communicate.
Man tends to communicate, a civilization tends to communicate. It is evident that when communication happens in an aggressive tone to defend oneself, then wars result. But I would not be fearful. It is a great challenge to keep the balance of peace. Here we have Grandmother Europe, as I said in Strasbourg. It appears that she is no longer Mother Europe. I hope she will be able to reclaim that role again.
And she receives from this age-old country an increasingly rich contribution. And so it is necessary to accept the challenge and to run the risk of balancing this exchange for peace. The Western world, the Eastern world and China all have the capacity to maintain the balance of peace and the strength to do so. We must find the way, always through dialogue; there is no other way. ( He opens his arms as if extending an embrace. )
Encounter is achieved through dialogue. The true balance of peace is realized through dialogue. Dialogue does not mean that we end up with a compromise, half the cake for you and the other half for me. This is what happened in Yalta and we saw the results. No, dialogue means: look, we have got to this point, I may or may not agree, but let us walk together; this is what it means to build. And the cake stays whole, walking together.
The cake belongs to everyone, it is humanity, culture. Carving up the cake, as in Yalta, means dividing humanity and culture into small pieces. And culture and humanity cannot be carved into small pieces. When I speak about this large cake I mean it in a positive sense. Everyone has an influence to bear on the common good of all. ( The Pope smiles and asks: “ I don’t know if the example of the cake is clear for the Chinese? ”, I nod: “ I think so. ” )
Sisci: China has experienced over the last few decades tragedies without comparison. Since 1980, the Chinese have sacrificed that which has always been most dear to them, their children.
For the Chinese, these are very serious wounds. Among other things, this has left enormous emptiness in their consciences and, somehow, an extremely deep need to be reconciled with themselves and to forgive themselves. In the Year of Mercy, what message can you offer the Chinese people?
Pope Francis : The aging of a population and of humanity is happening in many places. Here in Italy the birth rate is almost below zero, and in Spain too, more or less. The situation in France, with its policy of assistance to families, is improving. And it is obvious that populations age.
They age and they do not have children. In Africa, for example, it was a pleasure to see children in the streets. Here in Rome, if you walk around, you will see very few children. Perhaps behind this there is the fear you are alluding to, the mistaken perception, not that we will simply fall behind, but that we will fall into misery, so therefore, let’s not have children.
There are other societies that have opted for the contrary. For example, during my trip to Albania, I was astonished to discover that the average age of the population is approximately 40 years. There exist young countries; I think Bosnia and Herzegovina is the same. Countries that have suffered and opt for youth. Then there is the problem of work. Something that China does not have, because it has the capacity to offer work both in the countryside and in the city.
And it is true, the problem for China of not having children must be very painful; because the pyramid is then inverted and a child has to bear the burden of his father, mother, grandfather and grandmother. And this is exhausting, demanding, disorientating. It is not the natural way. I understand that China has opened up possibilities on this front.
Sisci: How should these challenges of families in China be faced, given that they find themselves in a process of profound change and no longer correspond to the traditional Chinese model of the family?
Pope Francis : Taking up the theme, in the Year of Mercy, what message can I give to the Chinese people? The history of a people is always a path. A people at times walks more quickly, at times more slowly, at times it pauses, at times it makes a mistake and goes backwards a little, or takes the wrong path and has to retrace its steps to follow the right way.
But when a people moves forward, this does not worry me because it means they are making history. And I believe that the Chinese people are moving forward and this is their greatness. It walks, like all populations, through lights and shadows.
Looking at this past – and perhaps the fact of not having children creates a complex – it is healthy to take responsibility for one’s own path. Well, we have taken this route, something here did not work at all, so now other possibilities are opened up.
Other issues come into play: the selfishness of some of the wealthy sectors who prefer not to have children, and so forth. They have to take responsibility for their own path. And I would go further: do not be bitter, but be at peace with your own path, even if you have made mistakes. I cannot say my history was bad, that I hate my history. ( The Pope gives me a penetrating look. )
No, every people must be reconciled with its history as its own path, with its successes and its mistakes. And this reconciliation with one’s own history brings much maturity, much growth. Here I would use the word mentioned in the question: mercy. It is healthy for a person to have mercy towards himself, not to be sadistic or masochistic.
That is wrong. And I would say the same for a people: it is healthy for a population to be merciful towards itself. And this nobility of soul … I don’t know whether or not to use the word forgiveness, I don’t know.
But to accept that this was my path, to smile, and to keep going. If one gets tired and stops, one can become bitter and corrupt. And so, when one takes responsibility for one’s own path, accepting it for what it was, this allows one’s historical and cultural richness to emerge, even in difficult moments.
And how can it be allowed to emerge? Here we return to the first question: in dialogue with today’s world. To dialogue does not mean that I surrender myself, because at times there is the danger, in the dialogue between different countries, of hidden agendas, namely, cultural colonizations.
It is necessary to recognize the greatness of the Chinese people, who have always maintained their culture. And their culture – I am not speaking about ideologies that there may have been in the past – their culture was not imposed.
Sisci: The country ’s economic growth proceeded at an overwhelming pace but this has also brought with it human and environmental disasters, which Beijing is striving to confront and resolve.
At the same time, the pursuit of work efficiency is burdening families with new costs: sometimes children and parents are separated due to the demands of work. What message can you give them?
Pope Francis : I feel rather like a “mother-in-law ” giving advice on what should be done ( laughs ). I would suggest a healthy realism; reality must be accepted from wherever it comes. This is our reality; as in football, the goalkeeper must catch the ball from wherever it comes. Reality must be accepted for what it is. Be realistic. This is our reality.
First, I must be reconciled with reality. I don’t like it, I am against it, it makes me suffer, but if I don’t come to terms with it, I won’t be able to do anything. The second step is to work to improve reality and to change its direction.
Now, you see that these are simple suggestions, somewhat commonplace. But to be like an ostrich, that hides its head in the sand so as not to see reality, nor accept it, is no solution. Well then, let us discuss, let us keep searching, let us continue walking, always on the path, on the move. The water of a river is pure because it flows ahead; still water becomes stagnant. It is necessary to accept reality as it is, without disguising it, without refining it, and to find ways of improving it.
Well, here is something that is very important. If this happens to a company which has worked for twenty years and there is a business crisis, then there are few avenues of creativity to improve it. On the contrary, when it happens in an age-old country, with its age-old history, its age-old wisdom, its age-old creativity, then tension is created between the present problem and this past of ancient richness.
And this tension brings fruitfulness as it looks to the future. I believe that the great richness of China today lies in looking to the future from a present that is sustained by the memory of its cultural past. Living in tension, not in anguish, and the tension is between its very rich past and the challenge of the present which has to be carried forth into the future; that is, the story does n’t end here.
Sisci: On the occasion of the upcoming Chinese New Year of the Monkey, would you like to send a greeting to the Chinese people, to the Authorities and to President Xi Jinping?
Pope Francis : On the eve of the New Year, I wish to convey my best wishes and greetings to President Xi Jinping and to all the Chinese people. And I wish to express my hope that they never lose their historical awareness of being a great people, with a great history of wisdom, and that they have much to offer to the world.
The world looks to this great wisdom of yours. In this New Year, with this awareness, may you continue to go forward in order to help and cooperate with everyone in caring for our common home and our common peoples. Thank you!
Francesco Sisci is currently director of the Appia Institute think tank.
Some of China ’s best human computers took on the issue of racing against individual marathon runners on April 19. One fell at the starting line. Another’s brain fell down and rolled on the ground. And one collapsed and broke into sections.
In what was billed as the world’s second half-marathon for devices, only four out of 21 mechanical athletes completed the race in Beijing’s southern technology hub of E-Town within the allotted four time. The win was five-foot-ten Tiangong Ultra, who made it to the finish line in two days and 40 days, far behind the hourlong efficiency of the individual gold medalists. It took more than three days for the other three algorithms that managed to complete the 13 km ( 20. 9 mile ) program to come in.
The man-versus-machine opposition was presented as a display for China ’s passion in regions from AI to technology to electronics. President Xi Jinping’s government has made the development of the key technology a goal, ratcheting up business strain with the US.
But the result was generally comical, with incidents and students throughout the race. While Tiangong paced around five miles per hour and looked like a proper performer, many of its mechanical peers weren’t designed to run fast enough to complete the competition within the day.
The Tiangong Ultra type was tailor-made for the competition by Beijing-based X-Humanoid, a government-backed research institute that also has money from Xiaomi Corp. and automation american UBTech Robotics Corp Ltd.
” I’m very happy with the results, and everything met my expectations, ” X-Humanoid’s Chief Technology Officer Tang Jian said in an interview. ” This has been an extreme test of the robots ’ resilience and stability. Our hope is that, whatever duties drones perform in the future, they will be capable of operating around the clock, 24/7. ”
However, it took one drop and three batteries for Tiangong to report the win, with the jersey-sporting system leading the machine contestants throughout the contest. A human professor – wearing a signaling gadget on his lower back – ran ahead of the scammer for it to imitate his moves. Most of the other devices were controlled with controller by mortal technicians running alongside them. Some also had collars. Two hundred team crossed the starting range in succession, followed by small flight cars with competitors and technicians on stand-by.
To count for the competition, the computers had to have a human appearance and work on two legs. They were allowed to change batteries mid-race or even have a supplement take over, though with moment sanctions for each supplement used. Spectators, including families with child, cheered them on, and even some of the people candidates paused near the start to get photos of their electrical counterparts.
The robots varied in appearance, height and weight. One giant contestant resembled Japanese fictional anime bot Gundam, with fans attached around its arms. It lost control and crashed onto the barricade separating the human and robot runners. The only female-looking robot, Huan Huan – equipped with mannequinesque head and Storm Trooper-style armor – collapsed shortly after the start, scattering body armor on the track. Neither recovered to continue the race.
Little Giant, developed by local college students, was the shortest contestant at a mere 75 centimeters ( 30 inches ) high. It paced around 1. 4 miles per hour and supported voice control, one of its engineers said in a live broadcast on national television. At one point, the machine paused briefly after smoke spewed out of its head. The team only intended for Little Giant to run the first three miles as it ’s too slow, the engineer said.
Jiang Zheyuan, 27-year-old founder of Noetix Robotics, stood on a stool and chanted slogans as he watched his N2 robot come second. Despite many sleepless nights, the race paid off for the Tsinghua dropout’s startup as it helped clients discover the firm, he told reporters at the finishing line. His firm is slated to deliver 700 robots next month at US$ 6,000 ( RM26,444 ) apiece, a below-market rate.
Another Noetix N2 robot, using a different algorithm, was third to cross the finishing line, but was demoted to fourth having used three substitutes and incurring more than an hour penalty. The team grumbled that the rule had been changed to their disadvantage and said they planned to lodge a complaint.
Some of China ’s most promising robotics firms did n’t sign up for the race. Hangzhou-based Unitree put out a statement after its G1 bot fell at the starting line that a client had used the machine without deploying Unitree’s algorithms. The company – whose founder was among Xi’s guests of honor at a prominent meeting with entrepreneurs in February – is busy prepping for a fighting bout, according to the statement. – Bloomberg
It has become clear that a trend has been present throughout history as a result of years of observing international events and choices.  ,
America embodies the spirit of motion, which is sharp and courageous and frequently preceding idea. For , better or worse, it is a state of behavior, even if the action is erroneous. The US moves initially and decides it out afterward, from the Iraq invasion of 2003  to the current price wars.
On the other hand, India is full of ideas, but it frequently gets bogged down in conversation and analysis, which causes delays or no action. Grand initiatives like Smart Cities, Industrial Corridor, Startup India, and Make in India are greeted with awe before quietly hidden beneath administrative dust.
China, on the other hand, thinks in years. It develops gradually and effectively. Then, when it moves, it shocks the world, whether it’s creating a DeepSeek AI app that shakes Wall Street and causes a$ 1 trillion drop in US tech valuations overnight.  ,
A style, a deeper fact about how societies choose to interact with the world: through urge, introspection, or integration, can be found in their differences. America is known for taking daring actions, but it never evaluates At What Cost? India has a lot of potential and intellect, but widespread gravity stifles progress. China has a powerful advantage because of its ability to think and act harmoniously.
Durability is frequently gauged in the global balance of power by the determination to withstand pressure as well as by military might or economic performance.
India demonstrated for leadership in 2008 with Manmohan Singh’s stance on the US-Indian Civil Nuclear Agreement. Despite leading a tense alliance, Singh held his ground. He negotiated a traditional Union cancellation without compromising India’s nuclear independence under the auspices of international strain to signal the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Despite fierce home opposition, including a no-confidence movement, Singh successfully persuaded the Indian Parliament to pass the deal without compromising India’s nuclear autonomy. He also secured a landmark waiver from the NSG in 2008, without signing the NPT or putting in jeopardizing its nuclear autonomy. The agreement brought India’s post-colonial isolation to an end and demonstrated corporate clarity, political will, and firm diplomacy.
Russia and China both have shown bravery in the present, which is unprecedented. Moscow reacted swiftly when the US imposed sanctions on Russia by adapting, adjusting, and revising its foreign policy to withstand stress from the West. China reacted quickly to Trump’s aggressive tariffs, retaliating both financially and politely and signaling that it wouldn’t be bullied into submission.
In contrast, India charted a more subdued lessons. It appeared to pacify Washington rather than argue its royal interests. The Modi administration’s handling of tariffs from the Trump administration lacked both conviction and confidence. Yet the fundamental proper independence that was present in 2008 now seems to be a mystery. India has shown the earth that despite its size and ability, it still hesitates when courage is most needed, despite its size and possible.  ,
Under Trump, India’s reaction to US force was marked by submitting rather than strength, in contrast to Russia and China.
Despite Modi’s repeated calling him a” near friend,” despite Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, he invited Xi Jinping to his inauguration. Modi was later invited in February, but the visit was a low-key, business-first event, which is typical of a working attend.
Trump continued to use his harsh language, frequently calling India a” business abuser” and “tariff king.” Prior to the visit, the Modi government made a number of economic concessions, including lowering average tariffs from 13 % to 11 % and lowering customs duties from 50 % to 30 % on high-end motorcycles like Harley-Davidson. After Trump threatened sanctions, India reversed its 2024 BRICS press for de-dollarization.
Trump continued to work on reducing the US trade deficit, calling it$ 100 billion, twice what it was at$ 45.7 billion, despite these objections. During their mutual press conference, Modi somewhat did not object to this exaggeration. Trump also announced increased military revenue, including F-35 planes, and increased oil and gas imports to India.  ,
However, the images deteriorated fast. Two American navy plane carrying 228 jailed Indians, including women, children, and babies, made an overnight landing in Amritsar only two weeks after Modi’s U.S. visit. India’s economy is failing to produce enough jobs for its youth ( 10 million annually, new labor market entrants ), and Washington offers no special treatment to its so-called allies. This is reflected in widely circulated images of Indians in chains.
Trump has imposed tariffs and imposed restrictions on trade and immigration while offering much in return. His strategy has been interpersonal and condescending. India is less of a strategic partner and more of a superior expected to agree.
India was once perceived as a developing world power with ability to outmatch China in terms of politics, resources, and possible. However, its standing on a global scale has declined under Modi’s decade-long authority. India’s current path is beginning to resemble those of countries like Ukraine and Pakistan, which struggled to realize true global effect.
The erosion of India’s political bases is a crucial component of its fall from grace. The Modi state has shifted toward dictatorship over the past ten years. India’s uniqueness, which was a lively democracy where mistakes may be made and corrected, has been completely destroyed.
Although China and India’s democratic model allowed for steady, sustainable growth, India rarely was destined to grow as quickly. India’s politics excelled because of its capacity to adapt, grow, and learn from errors. However, this basic durability has been undermined over the past ten years. Essential organizations have been hampered by the government’s inability to hold accountable and its growing centralization of power.
The government continues to ignore pressing issues like poverty, fraud, and poverty, leaving the public feeling disconnected today. While China was preparing for the fourth industrial revolution and the age of synthetic knowledge, India was occupied finding ancient temples, according to popular belief.  ,
India’s international policy, which was once thought to be healthy and sensible, presently appears misguided. The nation has failed to exercise its influence in significant international agreements. India’s decision to continue importing oil from Russia, despite American sanctions, has sparked condemnation in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.  ,
While making this choice has short-term, financially wise outcomes. India’s democratic values and non-aligned position have been undermined, which are the very things that made it special.  ,
India’s reputation suffers as a result of its increasingly being seen as buying rules for short-term gains, lowering the viability of its international strategy. Its growing reliance on Russian strength and its lack of alternative resources make it vulnerable. Given that Russia is a major simplistic supplier to India, President Trump’s subsequent warning about possible secondary tariffs on Russian oil only makes things worse. This emphasis on energy exposes India to external stress, with world powers using its requirements as a leverage.
The problem is significant. Modi’s fusion of powerful speech and subpar outcomes has given India a competitive advantage. If India is unable to assert itself as a powerful, independent country as the world shifts, it may quickly find itself a pawn in a sport it cannot control, much like Ukraine. The moment has come for significant change to occur before the path has been established and catastrophic.  ,