How India and the U.S. Succeeded at the G20 Without China’s Xi
Xi Jinping‘s choice to skip the Group of 20 summit may have been an attempt to prevent India from shining on the global stage. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in collaboration with the United States and Europe, found a more effective way to counter China.
Other G20 nations applauded India’s success in securing an agreement on a joint statement, a matter that was uncertain until just days before the summit in New Delhi. In addition to finding common ground on the Ukraine crisis, they also granted full G20 membership to the African Union and took action on issues such as climate change and sustainable debt, which are priorities for emerging markets.
The final outcome of the summit has caused frustration in Ukraine, as they viewed the compromise on the language related to the war as weaker compared to what leaders had agreed upon just 10 months earlier in Bali, Indonesia. However, for the United States and its allies, the criticism of the joint statement, which in substance was similar to the one from Bali and had limited practical impact, was considered a minor cost. This was done in order to provide Prime Minister Modi with a victory that enhances India’s standing as an emerging power capable of countering China’s global influence.
U.S. President Joe Biden played a leading role in this effort, recognizing in India the best opportunity for his administration to isolate China and Russia and strengthen the U.S.-led global order. The outcome demonstrated that Washington is becoming more adept at communicating with the countries of the so-called Global South, with India serving as a primary guide in this endeavor.
“Some analysts are interpreting the softened language regarding Russia-Ukraine as a Western concession,” said Milan Vaishnav, the director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “However, there’s another perspective: The West also had a vested interest in ensuring that India achieved a favorable outcome. A lack of consensus would have been a significant disappointment for India.”
One moment that exemplified the dynamics of the summit was President Biden’s meeting to discuss White House-led efforts to provide additional financing to developing nations. In the company of World Bank President Ajay Banga, the first Indian American to hold this position, President Biden was photographed alongside Prime Minister Modi, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa – key members of the BRICS grouping, excluding China and Russia. This expansion of the bloc earlier in the month presented a challenge for the Group of Seven advanced economies.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer indirectly criticized China by referring to these nations as “the three democratic members of the BRICS.” He asserted that they, along with the United States, were all committed to the success of the G20. He also noted that if China was not similarly committed, it would be unfortunate for everyone, but particularly so for China.
The United States didn’t stop at its diplomatic efforts during the G20 summit. It also announced a separate deal involving India, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other Middle Eastern nations to develop an ambitious rail and maritime network in the region. President Biden described it as a “game-changing regional investment” and solidified the deal with a three-way handshake that included Prime Minister Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite having referred to the latter as a “pariah” before the last American election.
This type of initiative is likely to be more appealing to Middle Eastern interests than focusing solely on human rights issues, even though the timeline and funding for the project remain somewhat uncertain. While the U.S. denied that the project was aimed at countering China’s growing influence in the Gulf, a French official acknowledged that it was designed to provide competition for Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), viewing it as a positive development.
President Biden emphasized the importance of China succeeding economically but insisted that it should do so by adhering to established rules.
Xi Jinping’s decision to skip the G20 summit, the first time since becoming president in 2013, represented a shift from his previous stance of presenting himself as a statesman willing to cooperate with other countries. China’s negotiators also risked coming across as uncooperative by taking a stance on minor issues, such as Prime Minister Modi’s use of a Sanskrit phrase and the U.S.’s bid to host the G20 in 2026. The Global Times, a newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party, labeled the U.S. as a “copycat” for its Middle East infrastructure plan.
Adding to China’s challenges at the summit, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly informed Premier Li Qiang that Italy intends to withdraw from the BRI while seeking to maintain friendly relations with China. However, no official decision had been made on this matter at the time of the G20 summit.
The United States didn’t stop at its diplomatic efforts during the G20 summit. It also announced a separate deal involving India, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other Middle Eastern nations to develop an ambitious rail and maritime network in the region. President Biden described it as a “game-changing regional investment” and solidified the deal with a three-way handshake that included Prime Minister Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite having referred to the latter as a “pariah” before the last American election.
This type of initiative is likely to be more appealing to Middle Eastern interests than focusing solely on human rights issues, even though the timeline and funding for the project remain somewhat uncertain. While the U.S. denied that the project was aimed at countering China’s growing influence in the Gulf, a French official acknowledged that it was designed to provide competition for Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), viewing it as a positive development.
President Biden emphasized the importance of China succeeding economically but insisted that it should do so by adhering to established rules.
Xi Jinping’s decision to skip the G20 summit, the first time since becoming president in 2013, represented a shift from his previous stance of presenting himself as a statesman willing to cooperate with other countries. China’s negotiators also risked coming across as uncooperative by taking a stance on minor issues, such as Prime Minister Modi’s use of a Sanskrit phrase and the U.S.’s bid to host the G20 in 2026. The Global Times, a newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party, labeled the U.S. as a “copycat” for its Middle East infrastructure plan.
Adding to China’s challenges at the summit, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly informed Premier Li Qiang that Italy intends to withdraw from the BRI while seeking to maintain friendly relations with China. However, no official decision had been made on this matter at the time of the G20 summit.
The G20 summit witnessed various diplomatic maneuvers and discussions. Before the summit, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accused China of hindering progress toward a joint statement. During closed-door talks, China introduced the topic of semiconductor access in the context of climate action, which led National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, a prominent advocate for U.S. export controls on semiconductor technology to China, to criticize the idea of using climate issues as leverage unrelated to the matter at hand.
Chinese leader Li emphasized the need for unity, cooperation, and not confrontation within the G20, as reported by Xinhua News Agency. Prior to this, a Chinese think tank affiliated with the country’s top intelligence agency had criticized India for disrupting the cooperation atmosphere at the G20 by pursuing its own agenda.
However, China eventually dropped its opposition to the joint statement, and India received praise from various quarters for brokering a compromise. According to insiders, the breakthrough came about when India, along with Indonesia, Brazil, and South Africa, jointly proposed language to describe the situation in Ukraine.
The consensus reached at the summit underscores India’s role as a dependable mediator in a world marked by deep divisions on geopolitical issues like the Ukraine conflict. It is evident that middle-order powers are interested in maintaining a multipolar global economic order rather than allowing China to dominate it.
Although some of the final language on Ukraine raised concerns among certain U.S. allies, supporting the compromise provided an opportunity to align more closely with major democracies in the Global South. These democracies play a crucial role in addressing issues related to Russia’s war and other global challenges. G7 leaders publicly praised the summit’s outcome, with Prime Minister Sunak emphasizing the strength of the language adopted and asserting that Russia is now isolated diplomatically.
