Amreeki-Chini bhai bhai

In purely economic terms, China looks set to transcend the US by 2030. A concern for Washington or an opportunity? Defense Secretary Robert Gates certainly seems inclined towards the latter

Amreeki-Chini bhai bhai

In purely economic terms, China looks set to transcend the US by 2030. A concern for Washington or an opportunity? Defense Secretary Robert Gates certainly seems inclined towards the latter.

On his three-day trip to Beijing last week, Gates was dexterously pushing for increased military entente between the two nations, despite differences over US arms sales to Taiwan and China's modernisation of its defence forces remaining unresolved. And the first flight test of the country's new fighter jet by China when the former CIA director was in town, has not exactly had a soothing effect on already frayed nerves.

Analysts suggest the J-20 could prove to be a formidable rival in the years to come to Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor, the world's only operational stealth fighter designed to eschew detection by enemy radar. However, Chinese officials appeared keen to efface lingering tensions ahead of President Hu Jintao's Washington visit.

Last year, things came to a pass over a series of maritime disputes, with the US supporting South East Asian concerns at Beijing's re-stated claims to the South China Sea. On the other hand, China has been very vocal in its complaints about the joint military exercises hosted by South Korea, Japan and the US. Washington also began building military relations with a former foe, Vietnam, with an offshore naval visit.

Both Hu and Obama have a lot riding on their rendezvous. As China ventures to move away from an export-driven growth model towards a consumption-led one, the latter must gear up with a plan of economic recovery as his main focus.

So what does this new-found friendship mean for New Delhi? Well for starters, it underscores the fact that we will have to fight our own battles, and Barack Obama is President of the United States of America, not India.

Our economy has been growing at over eight per cent annually, making India a seductive investment destination. When Obama was here in November, he supported permanent membership of the UN Security Council for India. So did the British PM David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.

Of course there's one possibility that these world leaders were floored by the Butter Chicken, Taj Mahal and munni badnaam hui or whatever else some of them were jiving away to! But, another school of thought says the economic deals signed during these trips may have played a part.

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