THE last few months have seen frenetic geopolitical activities setting stage for fresh alignments and formation of unique alliances. These activities have gained pace since the United States President Mr. Donald Trump raised stakes by imposing heavy tariffs at will, sparing not even his perceived allies or close friends of America. Cornered by the American slight, the EurAsian politics got into an active mode at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit where the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping suddenly sprung up as a potent new front to counter Mr. Trump’s insanity.

 

Parallely, the BRICS nations raised temperatures in Washington DC with their cohesive talk seeking end to hegemony of a few countries. In the meantime, the Global South, too, has made its presence felt with its own summits and agenda. It is a roller-coaster ride in international relations and its effect is apparent in the US position vis-a-vis China. There are signs of a thaw in the trade war between the top two economies. Mr. Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping in Busan is an apparent climbdown by the US in face of stiff Chinese resistance to American tariffs. The Chinese press is terming it as an ‘American Surrender’ while the US believes that it has made the most successful trade move by bringing China in the room as a new equal.

 

The visible benefits for the US include continued exports of Rare Earth elements critical for the tech sector in America and Chinese nod to purchase soyabeans. For China, the immediate gain is reduction of tariffs from 57 percent to 47 percent. These are the transactional aspects of the bilateral meeting which are always factored during talks of two leaders as an optic. Beneath the surface, the cold Chinese response and Beijing’s reluctance to come out with a joint statement reflect that Mr. Trump has found a hard negotiatior who talks from a position of strength. What is of great interest for the world from the bilateral meeting is Mr. Trump’s flattery of China with the proposal of forming a G2 grouping.

 

The statement came on-board Air Force One with no Chinese official backing the claim. It clearly makes another optic from Mr. Trump for the sake of grandstanding without giving a serious thought to the possibility of such a grouping. At the most, it was another effort by Mr. Trump to muddy international waters while pandering to Mr. Jinping’s ego. The G2 is, indeed, a lofty idea proposed by Mr. Trump without caring about the consequences the US will have. The US President was trying to tempt China with the idea of G2 after his efforts to break the Russia-China alliance went in vain in face of Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin’s steadfast stand on the war with Ukraine. After unsuccessfully trying the Russian side, Mr. Trump is now seeking a breakthrough with Chinese help. Hence the proposal of a G2. It is highly unlikely that the idea will work considering the inconsistency in Mr. Trump’s behaviour. His credibility has already taken a hit with constant reversal of positions.

 

China would never commit itself to a proposal whose contours are vague and without logic. It was an impulsive decision by a desperate businessman who wanted to show Mr. Jinping that he saw him as an equal. It was purely a trade-oriented proposal seeking to extract commercial benefits with a non-binding agreement. However, the unilateral announcement of G2 by Mr. Trump does have a huge message for India. As New Delhi works on the framework of a trade deal with Washington, it must reconsider deeper engagements with Mr. Trump on other issues including security. By pandering to the Chinese President, the US President has yet again proved that he cannot be trusted at all. He is a man driven by wild instincts and also by the obnoxious ‘hire and fire’ policy.