India looks to mend ties with China as Trump's tariffs push it away from U.S.

Five years after deadly border clashes plunged relations to an all-time low, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to China, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs alienate New Delhi and stoke worries that the U.S.’s counterweight to China might actually be getting closer to it instead.

HONG KONG — India is increasingly important to the United States as a key Asian security partner and a counterweight to China. But President Donald Trump’s tariffs may be pushing it closer to Beijing instead.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in China this weekend for the first time in seven years to attend a security forum with other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Sunday, Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Tianjin, where China is hosting a summit of the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, in October.Shen Hong / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images fileXi told Modi that the world’s two most populous countries should be “partners rather than rivals” and that the “dragon” and the “elephant” should come together.

Modi told Xi that they were “committed to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities.”