The United States may be inadvertently driving India closer to China and Russia, potentially fostering a powerful geopolitical alliance, a senior American analyst has warned. Ed Price, a senior Non-Resident Fellow at New York University, cautioned that the tariff war initiated by former President Donald Trump is pushing India into the arms of Beijing and Moscow. According to Price, this shift could lead to the formation of an economically and militarily aligned India-China-Russia axis, which could pose a significant challenge to American influence in the 21st century.
“If the Chinese, the Russians, and the Indians get together in any form of alliance that is economic and around the edges military, there’s no way that the Americans can compete in the 21st Century. We might as well go home,” Price stated, highlighting the long-term implications of such an alliance.
The comments come at a time when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held crucial bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. Price pointed to the economic ramifications of Washington’s punitive approach, emphasising that India's decision to look eastward is a direct result of Washington’s tariff policies.
India, which has long maintained a non-aligned stance, has been subjected to steep tariffs by the Trump administration, including a 25% reciprocal duty on Indian goods and an additional 25% levy on oil purchases from Russia, bringing the total tariff burden to 50%. This aggressive trade strategy, according to Price, has left India with little choice but to seek alternative trade partners, particularly in China and Russia.
Donald Trump himself criticised India’s reliance on Russian oil and military products, calling the trade relationship between the two countries “one-sided.” Trump’s stance intensified after India refused to back tougher sanctions on Russia over the ongoing Ukraine conflict, even as it continued purchasing discounted crude oil from Moscow.
As geopolitical tensions rise, the comments by Price underscore the strategic risks the US faces, with a potential new power bloc forming in Asia, one that could challenge the US’s global dominance.
