By Li Haidong The Republican nominee Donald Trump won the US presidential election in early November. With his presidency, the US policy toward India may show the following characteristics. For starters, the US will continue to strengthen its relationship with India. The US geopolitical competition with other powers in the Asia-Pacific region will continue but lack impetus. This means that major powers relations in the Asia-Pacific region are likely to have great adjustments. After the Cold War, the US ambition to transform the world has caused economic malaise, ethnic divisions, political polarization and other problems within the US. The Trump administration will try to change its overseas practices so as to overcome its internal issues. Hence, Trump has put forward the ideas of sharing overseas responsibilities and costs with US allies. This will become the key guide for the Trump administration's overall diplomacy. US-Indian relations will become an important part of Trump's diplomacy. With the purpose of stabilizing the external situation and straightening out problems at home, the Trump administration will seek an improving relationship with India. However, due to its own domestic problems, India can only play a limited role in assisting the US in solving headaches, thus the Trump administration will not put US-Indian relations in a very important position, and its enthusiasm for building a quasi-alliance with India will decrease. In addition, in view of the rapid growth of Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Trump will take advantage of US relationship with India as a balance against China. Nevertheless, the relationship's function of hedging China's geopolitical clout will, to some extent, be weakened. As a global power sticking to non-alignment diplomacy, India probably will not set a goal of allying with the US in suppressing China as the US hopes. Therefore, there are unbridgeable differences between American intentions for developing a close relationship with India to balance China and India's concept of developing independent diplomacy toward the US and China. In other words, the US attempts of establishing a quasi-alliance with India to restrict China may not be accepted by India as the country owns an independent diplomatic tradition. Moreover, Trump does not believe in climate change, and he is not likely to act on the international climate deals signed by the Obama administration, which will reduce the scope of cooperation between the US and India. When dealing with global challenges such as climate change, nuclear proliferation and terrorism, the US may require India to make greater contributions to specific fields which only the US is concerned about. This will reduce India's trust in the US, and weaken the basis for deepening bilateral cooperation to the level the US looks forward to. Last but not least, the economic nationalism supported by Trump collides with the free trade advocated by India. Trump's decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership shows the US will take a more closed trade and economic policy in the future. This runs counter to the free trade trend under globalization. By contrast, India has actively participated in and integrated into the process for building an Asian free trade mechanism. The US-India divergence in this aspect will confine their international economic and trade cooperation, and thus impair their bilateral relations. To sum up, US-Indian relations during Trump's term will have a limited impact on China. The intensive US-India security cooperation during the Obama administration will be changed due to Trump's adjustment in diplomacy, easing off the pressure on China. Besides, the prospect of US-Indian cooperation in trade is not optimistic, and it will only exert a limited effect on China's influence on regional trade.

(The author is a professor with the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn Follow us on Twitter @GTopinion) (Global Times)