India’s Dreams Of Being Next China Hit Trumpian Nightmare

India’s Dreams Of Being Next China Hit Trumpian Nightmare

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Qingdao, east China's ... [+] Shandong Province, on June 9, 2018.



Xinhua/Li Xueren via Getty Images



As Chinese and Indian soldiers face off on the roof of the world, there's a bigger casualty worth contemplating: the death knell of "Chindia.“



In theory, leaders Xi Jinping of China and Narendra Modi of India could still join forces. The idea of Asia's No. 1 and No. 3 economies cooperating more than they brawl has been a dream of statesmen dating back to Jawaharlal Nehru, India's founding prime minister. It got renewed traction in the early 2000s, when China's Hu Jintao and India's Manmohan Singh reigned. Chindia was in the air in 2018 when Xi and Modi held extended talks.



Such dreams came crashing down this month after the first deadly clash between to two most populous nations in decades. It left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead (mainland troop losses aren't known) on the Tibetan plateau, putting governments on a war footing. It also led to a series of moves sure to negatively affect economic links at the worst moment possible.



Even as coronavirus fallout fuels a global recession, the Chinese and