After years of near misses and unfulfilled promises, President Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India appear to have set relations between their democracies on a deeper, perhaps even revolutionary, path.
Part of the improvement in bilateral relations has to do with the personal chemistry between the two, which by all accounts appears warm and genuine. Mr. Obama had barely gotten off his plane in New Delhi when he and Mr. Modi embraced like old friends. They share humble roots. A visit by Mr. Modi to the White House in September went exceptionally well. And there was plenty of colorful symbolism in New Delhi: Mr. Obama became the first American president to attend the annual Republic Day parade.
There are strategic imperatives at work as well. Both leaders need to expand their economies, and both see the other as a crucial partner in offsetting China’s increasingly assertive role in Asia. The potential for cooperation is considerable. Much of the public focus on the visit was on trade, energy and breaking a logjam that has held up the sale of American nuclear energy technology to India. But when Mr. Modi and Mr. Obama sat down to talk, the first 45 minutes of the discussion was consumed by China.
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