The New Indian Express News

Global power shifts make US engagement and China management tougher for India: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Saturday that Indias task of engaging the United States and managing relations with China has become significantly more complicated, reflecting the deeper churn under way in the global political and economic order. His remarks underline how Indias foreign policy environment is being reshaped by shifting power balances, sharper geopolitical rivalries and a weakening of the assumptions that governed international relations for much of the postCold War period. According to reports, Jaishankar noted that dealing with the US today involves a different set of expectations and uncertainties than in the past. Washington is no longer acting primarily as the anchor of a predictable, rules-based global system. Instead, it is increasingly transactional, more focused on bilateral outcomes and domestic political considerations, and less inclined to underwrite global stability at its own cost. For India, this makes engagement with the US more layered. While strategic cooperation in areas such as defence, technology, critical supply chains and the Indo-Pacific continues to deepen, trade frictions, tariff issues and policy unpredictability complicate the relationship. Political calculations in Washington now have a direct bearing on economic decisions, making it harder for partners like India to plan on the basis of long-term continuity. At the same time, Jaishankars reference to managing China points to a challenge that is both structural and immediate. Indias relationship with China is shaped by an unresolved boundary dispute, periodic military tensions along the Line of Actual Control and a broader strategic rivalry in Asia. Even as both sides seek to prevent escalation and maintain a degree of stability, trust remains fragile. Chinas growing economic weight, technological ambitions and assertive regional posture add further complexity. For India, managing China is not only about border management but also about reducing vulnerabilities in trade and supply chains, responding to Beijings influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, and navigating competition without closing the door on limited cooperation where interests overlap. Jaishankars comments also reflect a broader assessment that the world is moving towards a phase of fragmented power and fluid alignments. No single country is able to dominate global outcomes, and traditional alliances are giving way to issue-based coalitions that shift with circumstances. This environment places a premium on diplomatic agility. India, in his framing, must engage multiple major powers simultaneously, even when those powers are at odds with each other. This makes policy choices more complex, as actions taken to strengthen one relationship can have ripple effects on others. The complications are not confined to the US and China alone. The war in Ukraine and its aftermath have made Indias engagement with Russia more sensitive, as New Delhi faces pressure from Western partners while seeking to preserve a long-standing strategic relationship. Europe, meanwhile, is emerging as an important but still evolving partner, grappling with its own economic and security challenges. Together, these dynamics reinforce the reality that Indias foreign policy choices are being made in an environment of heightened uncertainty and competing expectations. From an analytical perspective, Jaishankars remarks highlight Indias continued commitment to strategic autonomy, but also the growing difficulty of practising it. Strategic autonomy today does not mean equidistance or detachment; it means constant calibration. India must extract benefits from closer ties with the US without being drawn into confrontational blocs, manage competition with China without normalising instability on the border, and maintain diversified partnerships to avoid overdependence on any single power. The ministers assessment suggests that India sees the current global transition not as a temporary disruption but as a longer-term shift. Engaging major powers will require more negotiation, greater resilience and sharper prioritisation of national interests. In this more complicated world, Indias diplomacy is likely to become increasingly pragmatic, flexible and interest-driven, reflecting the realities of a multipolar and contested international system.