Confronted by global upheavals and cognisant of vulnerabilities, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President have met twice in 2026. The US-China rapprochement will increasingly shape geopolitics, geoeconomics and techno-capitalism. This evolving G2 framework may even restore a semblance of global order. Washington has paused its containment strategy, while Beijing recognises its limitations in dictating geopolitical outcomes. Both understand their shared interest in curbing global disruptions and the costs of economic decoupling. As China’s report “The Great Global Transformation and the Path to US-China Coexistence” asserted, China has weathered America’s offensive phase, forced a strategic stalemate and emerged as a “near-peer”, imposing an “inevitable peace”.

Living between two hegemons carving out rival global blocs poses structural questions for India and the Global South. After all, the “Thucydides Trap” Xi invoked is about established powers confronting rising ones, and great powers colluding to constrain third powers. Can we independently shape the emerging world order or influence the G2? If we cannot, will the G2 transcend self-interest to privilege systemic stability and a fairer world?

This means objectively assessing where we are, and where we should be. A section of the strategic establishment has long........

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