The United States is pursuing a deeper economic partnership with India as part of its broader strategy to address China’s rise, which it identifies as a defining issue of the 21st century.
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States has characterized its response to China’s growing influence as “the defining story of the 21st century.” As part of this strategy, the U.S. is signaling a deeper, albeit conditional, economic partnership with India within the framework of its Indo-Pacific strategy.
According to the State Department’s Agency Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026–2030, the document states, “How the United States responds to the rise of China will be the defining story of the 21st century.” This response is not only centered on global economic competition but also on safeguarding U.S. national interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
The plan highlights the importance of the Indo-Pacific, noting, “Asia is already the source of nearly half of the world’s gross domestic product by some estimates, and crucial sea lanes and supply chains crisscross the region.” It further emphasizes that “regional peace and stability benefit the United States irrespective of competition with countries such as China.”
In this context, India is specifically mentioned as a key partner. The strategic plan outlines, “We will seek partnership with growing regional economies such as India, but on terms that advance U.S. security and economic interests and avoid repeating past mistakes.”
The strategy adopts a dual-track approach. Economically, the U.S. aims to “advance an economic system in the Indo-Pacific that is both free from external coercion and open to the American people.” This includes a commitment to support “U.S. reindustrialization through broad commercial advocacy efforts, the development of secure and resilient supply chains, and the spread of American and trusted alternatives to Chinese-created dependencies.”
Additionally, the plan indicates a focus on tougher trade enforcement measures. The United States will work to “identify and counter attempts to evade U.S. tariffs through third-country transshipment.”
On the security front, the document stresses the need for a “favorable military balance in the Indo-Pacific to keep the trade routes free and open and to deter aggression.” It notes that China has engaged in “an unprecedented military buildup,” which the U.S. must publicly address and be prepared to counter.
Despite these security concerns, the plan asserts that Washington “desires neither war nor regime change” and will “consistently seek open lines of communication with China and means to reduce misunderstandings and risks.”
The strategy also emphasizes the importance of alliances, stating that the United States will “seek closer economic and military ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners that benefit U.S. strength, not which come at our expense.”
Mechanisms such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue are highlighted as tools to “drive American and allied regional priorities and counter attempts by China to establish a hostile and exclusionary economic system.”
Linking economic statecraft with national security, the plan asserts that the United States will “rescue our industries from unfair trade practices and illegitimate competition” and aims to “firmly reestablish America as the economic and technological juggernaut of the 21st century.”
The Indo-Pacific region has emerged as the primary arena for strategic competition between Washington and Beijing over the past decade, with trade, technology, supply chains, and military posture at the forefront of tensions, according to IANS.