Washington DC:

Indicating the importance Washington gives to New Delhi as the new Trump administration takes office, US Secretary of State Maro Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Walz held their first bilateral and international meets respectively with India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar is in Washington at the invitation of the US Government to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. The meeting between the two top diplomats representing the world’s oldest and largest democracies took place at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department. The bilateral meeting was preceded by the first Quad ministerial meet after Donald Trump became President.

NEW US SECRETARY OF STATE’S FIRST BILATERAL MEETING

Marco Rubio’s decision to have his first bilateral meeting with India’s S Jaishankar assumes significance given that the first foreign outreach of any previous new US administration traditionally has been with its two neighbours Canada and Mexico, or with one of its NATO allies.

The bilateral meeting between new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Dr Jaishankar comes less than an hour after the former officially took office. The two leaders held wide-ranging discussions during which they delved into the entire gamut of the India-US strategic partnership. The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, also had India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, being part of it.

Immediately after the meeting, Secretary Rubio and Dr Jaishankar made a joint appearance before the international press, where they shook hands and posed for the official photographs.

“Delighted to meet @secrubio for his first bilateral meeting after assumption of office as Secretary of State. Reviewed our extensive bilateral partnership, of which @secrubio has been a strong advocate. Also exchanged views on a wide range of regional and global issues. Look forward to closely working with him to advance our strategic cooperation,” Dr Jaishankar wrote on social media platform X shortly after the meeting.

Delighted to meet @secrubio for his first bilateral meeting after assumption of office as Secretary of State.

Reviewed our extensive bilateral partnership, of which @secrubio has been a strong advocate.

Also exchanged views on a wide range of regional and global issues.

Look… pic.twitter.com/NVpBUEAyHK

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 21, 2025

NEW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S MAIDEN QUAD MEET

Immediately before the two leaders met for bilateral talks, they joined their counterparts Penny Wong from Australia and Iwaya Takeshi from Japan for the new Trump administration’s maiden Quad meeting – a diplomatic and security partnership set up by the four nations to maintain peace and freedom of navigation under a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.

The meeting between the four top leaders went on for more than an hour, at the end of which they appeared before the press for a customary photograph. They however, did not take any questions or give any statement.

“Attended a productive Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today in Washington DC. Thank @secrubio for hosting us and FMs @SenatorWong and Takeshi Iwaya for their participation,” Dr Jaishankar wrote, adding that it is “Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump administration. This underlines the priority it has in the foreign policy of its member states. Our wide-ranging discussions addressed different dimensions of ensuring a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

Attended a productive Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today in Washington DC. Thank @secrubio for hosting us and FMs @SenatorWong & Takeshi Iwaya for their participation.

Significant that the Quad FMM took place within hours of the inauguration of the Trump Administration. This… pic.twitter.com/uGa4rjg1Bw

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 21, 2025

He further noted that the four leaders “Agreed on the importance of thinking bigger, deepening the agenda and intensifying our collaboration. The meeting today sends a clear message that in an uncertain and volatile world, the Quad will continue to be a force for global good.”

MEETING WITH NEW US NSA MIKE WALZ

After these two meetings, Dr Jaishankar held another top meeting – with new US National Security Adviser or NSA Mike Walz. For Mr Walz too, this was his first international meeting since taking office earlier that same day. The meeting took place at the White House.

“Great to meet NSA @michaelgwaltz again this afternoon. Discussed strengthening our friendship to ensure mutual benefit and enhance global stability and prosperity. Looking forward to working together on an active and outcome oriented agenda,” Dr Jaishankar said after the meeting.

Great to meet NSA @michaelgwaltz again this afternoon.

Discussed strengthening our friendship to ensure mutual benefit and enhance global stability and prosperity.

Looking forward to working together on an active and outcome oriented agenda.

pic.twitter.com/LUlc1WBbWm

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 21, 2025

On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was seen in the front row as US President Donald Trump delivered his inaugural address at the Capital Rotunda in Washington DC. Dr Jaishankar said it was a “great honour” to attend the ceremony as India’s special envoy. He also met members of the new Trump administration, including the 56th Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and nominee for the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel.

He also exchanged a handshake with Vivek Ramaswamy, who quit the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency to possible pursue the race for Ohio Governor.
 

Washington DC:

Sun Tzu, A Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher who lived approximately in the 5th Century BC, is best known for his famous book ‘The Art Of War’. In it, he wrote a proverb well-known to the world even today – “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer”. US President-elect Donald Trump seems to have taken a leaf out of Sun Tzu’s book when he invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inaugural ceremony in Washington DC scheduled for January 20th.

President Xi, who perhaps is also familiar with Sun Tzu works, read right through Donald Trump’s invite and has politely declined it, as per the latest reports.

Donald Trump’s unprecedented decision to invite the Chinese President astonished officials in Washington and many others beyond. “A foreign leader has never attended the inauguration of a US President,” said the US State Department after hours of looking up official records dating back to 1874.

“It is, however, common for Ambassadors and other diplomats to attend the President’s swearing-in ceremony,” the US State Department added.

Amid all the hustle and bustle  at the White House – and chaos behind the scenes – Donald Trump’s spokesperson Karoline Leavitt decided to give an interview to Fox News. Confirming the invite to Xi Jinping, Ms Leavitt said “This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just allies but our adversaries and our competitors too.”

She also said that an invite for Donald Trump’s oath taking ceremony was sent to several other foreign leaders besides just Xi Jinping, but did not reveal who they were. It is not known yet if these “other invites” were sent on the same day as the one extended to Xi Jinping, or after Washington learnt about the Chinese President’s decision not to attend.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, officials in Beijing have remained tight-lipped over the issue. President Xi though, had as recently Tuesday, warned Washington about the expected tariff, trade, and tech wars once Trump becomes President. Expecting economic trouble in the weeks and months ahead, President Xi held a crucial meeting with heads of 10 major international organisations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Beijing.

“There will be no winners,” he cautioned the United States in his speech at that meeting while he spoke about tariff hikes, tech-bans, and trade clampdowns that Donald Trump has vowed to impose on China during his election campaign.

With such war of words and aggressive posturing by both Trump and Xi, the former’s decision to invite the Chinese President for his inauguration ceremony does indeed seem both misplaced and rather unusual.

Donald Trump has blown hot and cold in his views about Xi Jinping – calling him “a great guy” on one occasion, and describing him as his nemesis on another. An invite sent, as one would, to an ally on the one hand, and calling China “the greatest threat” on the other.

Speaking about President Xi in his pre-election podcast with Joe Rogan, Trump had said, “He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. I mean, he’s a brilliant guy, whether you like it or not.” But in two other interviews he called Xi Jinping the “biggest threat to the world” and labelled China as the “threat of the century”.

Donald Trump has also appointed Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State and Mike Walz as his National Security Adviser – both staunch critics of China who have kept a hawk’s eye on every move Beijing makes – so much so, that the Chinese government has placed sanctions on Marco Rubio, and in 2020 had banned him from ever entering the country again – something Beijing would need to reconsider when he takes office as Secretary of State.

Weeks before the Trump Administration takes over, NSA-designate Mike Waltz has already urged President-elect Trump to “urgently end the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East in order to counter the greater threat from the Chinese Communist Party”.

All eyes are now on what will be Trump’s next move after the invitation snub, and what will be Xi Jinping’s counter. The endgame is far from sight.