As I see it | No smiles, no handshake: China and India are in the midst of a geopolitical split
- Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi didn’t hold talks or even shake hands at the recent SCO summit in Samarkand
- It’s a sign of how far New Delhi’s attitude towards Beijing has changed since a 2020 border clash, and it’s not in China’s interests
The geopolitical split that is taking place between China and India could not be more obvious.
Standing side by side during a group photo session at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, there was no eye contact, smiles or handshake between the neighbouring countries’ leaders.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Kazakhstan on first trip abroad since pandemic began
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar had a similar awkward encounter when photos were taken at a BRICS gathering in New York last week, and again there was no bilateral meeting.
With Xi and US President Joe Biden expected to meet face-to-face in November – at a time when both sides see the other as their top national security threat – it is hard to see why there was no meeting with Modi.
It is, however, a clear sign of how far New Delhi’s attitude towards Beijing has changed since a border clash in June 2020, the deadliest in 50 years. And with China mired in a feud with the West, battling with zero-Covid chaos and economic woes at home as well as its strategic alignment with Russia, it is also clear that prolonged hostilities with India are not in Beijing’s interests.