Even as Xi and Modi look to arrive at convergence on strategic issues, the Chinese president is equally plugged into the dialogue between the two Koreas

The Wuhan summit between India and China may be informal in nature but has a geopolitical significance and context that can’t be overlooked. 

The summit that began on Friday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in this city, through which run the Han and Yangtze rivers, coincides with key events in contemporary geopolitics. 

US President Donald Trump is all set to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel to mend trans-Atlantic ties even as historic talks got underway between the two Koreas following decades of hostility. An Asean summit begins in Singapore on Saturday as the grouping under the island-nation’s chairmanship warily regards Sino-US competition in the region. 

All these meetings will allow world leaders to position themselves amid the geopolitical flux that’s a key item on the agenda of dialogue between Modi and Xi. India is hoping to play the role of balancer in an international politics marked increasingly by uncertainty. While contentious issues including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may not figure in the Modi-Xi one-on-one meeting, India is providing alternative connectivity routes across Asia and Africa and is establishing an Indo-Pacific presence to counter-balance China's phenomenal rise.


Even as Xi and Modi look to arrive at convergence on strategic issues, the Chinese president is equally plugged into the dialogue between the two Koreas.

North Korea, a close ally of China, has suddenly moved closer to mending ties with the US, unthinkable just a few months ago.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in hammered out a joint statement that is heavy on aspirational goals, ranging from families divided by the Korean war to transport links.

They will hold talks on formally establishing a peace treaty and work together to “ease the sharp military tensions on the Korean peninsula,” with their defence ministers meeting in May. They also agreed to establish an inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong.

Merkel will be talking to Trump on trade protectionism among other things, days after she met Modi in Berlin. French President Emanuel-Macron and Merkel want the same key things from Trump--to persuade him against further US trade protectionism and keep him from pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal,