'For our country's benefit': CPI-M's Prakash Karat calls for improved ties with China

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat has called for better relations with China as a way to strengthen India’s position in a multipolar world while maintaining strategic autonomy. Karat argued that while India and China do not need to be allies, improved ties could offer greater flexibility in navigating global challenges, especially amid US pressure on defense and trade deals.

"I think, for our own country's benefit and interest in a multipolar world, it is necessary for us to improve relations with China without actually becoming allies and set it in some sort of balanced, normal fashion," he said in an interview with PTI. 

Karat pointed to recent de-escalation efforts in eastern Ladakh and increased visa approvals for pilgrims visiting Kailash Mansarovar as signs of positive momentum in India-China ties. "So, I think that we are taking the right course now. We don't have to become allies, but if we maintain good relations, then our capacity to intervene and maneuver in this very complex developing international situation will increase and heighten, and that will be to our benefit," he added.

Karat also revisited the CPI(M)’s strong opposition to the 2008 Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal, stating that it had paved the way for a deeper strategic alliance with Washington, which has now put India in a difficult position under Donald Trump’s presidency.

"People saw our opposition to the India-US nuclear deal only within the framework of that civil nuclear deal. We saw it in a wider perspective… America was saying we will give you this nuclear deal, but the quid pro quo was a military and defense agreement, which we entered into—the ten-year military framework agreement," he said.

The CPIM leader argued that India’s growing dependence on the US for defense and energy purchases is limiting its foreign policy flexibility, with Washington pushing for increased arms sales. "When our prime minister went to Washington, what are the two things Trump has extracted from us? One is buying more arms. They want to sell arms to us because he (Trump) wants the US' armaments industry to boom," he noted, further criticising India’s commitment to buying $10 billion worth of oil and gas from the US.

The Left leader stressed that India must rethink its foreign policy approach to avoid being caught in strategic entanglements. He warned that Trump’s presidency would bring new challenges, and India’s best response would be to maintain greater independence by balancing relations with multiple global powers, including China.

"We don't want this. So, my point is that with Trump coming, his presidency will pose very new challenges for us. And our foreign policy and strategic designs or approach should be rethought so that we retain strategic autonomy in a growing multipolar world," he said.