Luring India seen as the key to China managing US pivot to Asia
Beijing's relationship with the South Asian giant seen as win-win - but success will hinge on a balancing act with other powers
It might sound like a romantic story of a young girl being courted by three different boys. But there's nothing more to the diplomatic charm offensive being mounted towards India by China, Japan and the United States than a simple cost-benefit calculation.
President Xi Jinping's visit to India last week was sandwiched between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meetings with the leaders of two other powers that have elicited the country's attention. Modi met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a fortnight ago, and will meet US President Barack Obama in two weeks' time.
Also in India this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel described the Asian giant as an "indispensable partner for the 21st century", as they move ahead with the US-India defence partnership.
Since taking office, Xi has used the lure of trade and investment - with diplomatic assertiveness - to challenge Obama's "pivot to Asia", in which Tokyo is a major partner.
State media have acknowledged the competition between powers to woo India.
"The Sino-Indian relationship, with its own strategic merits, doesn't have to be associated with ties to other major powers," the Global Times said. The tabloid said, "The increasing intimacy between Tokyo and New Delhi will bring at most psychological comfort to the two countries" and that "Sino-Indian ties can in no way be counterbalanced by the Japan-India friendship".
It said the US and Japan regarded China as their biggest competitor and that befriending India was a way to maintain their superiority over China.