The rivalry between the U.S. and China is playing out in India, where American President Donald Trump will be wrapping up his state visit to the South Asian country.
Experts said that Trump’s first state visit to India signifies the growing strength of the relations between Washington and New Delhi, amid China’s rising clout in South Asia. As part of his two-day visit which began on Monday, Trump was in New Delhi and Ahmedabad, the largest city in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
The fact that Trump made time for India in an election year is a major win for the South Asian country, said Richard Rossow, senior advisor and the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.
U.S.-India trade is “defying gravity” and continues to grow despite trade barriers on both sides, Rossow told CNBC.
“India is choosing — even as it puts trade barriers — to buy more from the United States in those sectors where the government of India makes the buys,” said Rossow, referring to state purchases in gas and defense sectors as examples.
