Expert: What Obama's India visit means to China

Apart from China's unprecedented rise, its increasing assertiveness in regional and global matters is often cited as a possible trigger for India's policy drift in favor of Western countries. Modi's repeated mention of "expansionism" and maritime terrorism, underlining the need to ensure freedom of navigation and over-flights suits the US, which has introduced the "pivot to Asia" and proposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership to counter China's rise.

Although India's DNA will never allow it to become a close ally of the US and its leadership can never be imprudent enough to adopt a policy of containing China, there is no doubt that China's continuous rise has become a matter of concern for New Delhi.

One of the principal reasons Modi won the election last year was his promise to reverse the tide of scandals and policy paralysis, and focus on development and justice. But Modi must realize that since the Chinese economy has increased from 2.5 times that of India's in 2000 to five times today, he has to focus on economic diplomacy and build partnerships with one and all to replicate China's policies.

Although it could lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings, Modi sees no contradiction in pursuing friendly ties with both, the US and China. Calibrating various competing interests and balancing various competing domestic constituencies calls for bold initiatives at home and diplomatic finesse in foreign policy. And it is the duty of India's partners, including China, to ensure that their mutual trust-deficit is not allowed to derail their expanding partnerships.

The author is a professor at School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.