U.S. President Donald Trump made his first state visit to India last week, looking to shore up bilateral ties and secure progress on several touchy issues, most notably the U.S.-India trade imbalance.

The president of the United States surprised his Indian counterpart by touting U.S. friendship with India’s arch rival, Pakistan. Such gaffes aside, India is looking to America for some advantages, while balancing relations with China.

India and China’s nuclear deterrence allows both countries to undertake bilateral problem solving without fear of conflict escalation, while the United States and China can simultaneously work to reduce overall global nuclear risks.

Recent US Navy drills in the South China Sea invited old friends like Japan and the Philippines, but also new partners like India. An expanded US military presence in these disputed waters is part of America’s “Indo-Pacific Strategy” to block Chinese military expansion — and perhaps to apply pressure during ongoing trade talks.

President Donald Trump said he wanted to seek new partnerships and cooperation with allies during this Asian tour. However, “America First” is Trump’s one and only strategy, with addressing the trade deficit as its ultimate goal. The “Indo-Pacific” is a secondary priority, and the concept was proposed to help boost President Trump’s low approval rating.

The US has proposed a quadrilateral security mechanism with Japan, India, and Australia to contain China. This initiative will fail.

Partners to work with India, Australia; delicate diplomacy needed for Beijing.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said before a visit to India next week that the Trump administration wanted to “dramatically deepen” cooperati

The US-India relationship has been burdened by mutual misgivings as of late. In Washington summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump displayed a comfortable chemistry, with no real discord to be seen – a departure from some of Trump’s other early diplomatic forays.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter visited Delhi in mid-April, and along with $14 billion in supposed defensive military items from the U.S., as well as a cancelled Beijing trip, unease has spread in China’s defense community. It appears that mutual concerns about China’s ambitions are principal driving force in the China-U.S. bilateral relationship.