US-China cold war: 'Wealthy, powerful, democratic India will help frustrate Beijing's hegemo
Amid war of words between Washington and Beijing over multiple issues, Republican Senator from Texas John Cornyn tweeted that “A wealthy, powerful and democratic India would help frustrate China’s hegemonic ambitions.” Sharing an op-ed written by Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal in which the US academic argues that helping India lift its long-term growth rate should be one of America’s top foreign policy goals. The United States won the Cold War by helping democracies become rich and now is the time to revive that approach and India is the place to start, said Mead. 'India a natural US ally in the new Cold War with China' The US and China are currently engaged in a major confrontation over issues like the origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Beijing’s security crackdown in Hong Kong and its aggressive military moves in the disputed South China Sea. Mead, who is the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities at Bard College, further called India a natural US ally in the new Cold War with China. He further noted that without a strong push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government, India’s growth could stabilise at a rate that would keep Indian incomes rising but leave the country falling ever further behind China. 'Helping India lift its long-term growth rate should be one of America's top foreign-policy goals' “Helping democratic India lift its long-term growth rate enough to narrow the gap with China should be one of America's top foreign-policy goals,” PTI quoted Mead. US President Donald Trump in a series of decisions over escalating bilateral tensions with China over the coronavirus pandemic, trade issues and Beijing’s new controversial security law in Hong Kong, said the US would deny entry to certain Chinese nationals and tightening of regulations against Chinese investments in America. Apart from terminating its relationship with the World Health Organisation, the US President also accused the UN’s health body of misguiding the world on the coronavirus and siding with China over the issue.
