The Modi government has shifted India's positioning from a "balanced power" to a "leading power", pursuing great power status as its governing goal. The changes in the international situation provide new opportunities for India, and the great power strategy has a new positioning and goal. Analyze the differences between the Modi government's current major power strategy and its early tenure in 2014, as well as new considerations for India's international role. Explore the measures taken by the Modi government to achieve its strategic positioning as a major power and their potential impact on China India relations.

The Evolution of India's Great Power Path

Elaborate on the historical evolution and strategic implications of India's pursuit of great power status. Since independence, Indian political leaders have been committed to shaping the domestic and international development environment, enhancing the country's comprehensive national strength and international influence. India's great power strategy is rooted in traditional strategic culture, guided by pragmatism and strategic autonomy, with alternating paths of idealism and realism. During the Modi era, India's great power strategy underwent profound changes, with constantly enriched strategic connotations and role positioning, and complex strategic means. The origin of India's great power strategy can be traced back to the ancient Indian politician Cordelia's "Treatise on Politics", which emphasized conquering other countries and expanding its sphere of influence. Nehru was the chief architect of India's great power strategy, proposing that India must become a "vibrant and colorful great power". In the post Nehru era, the Indian government adjusted its Nehru strategic tone and moved towards the goal of becoming a major power through pragmatism and regional hegemonic policies. After the Cold War, India implemented multilateral realism diplomacy with economic development as its main goal. The Modi government continues the principle of pragmatism, based on the economic development strategy, and adopts flexible foreign policies according to the international situation in different periods to maximize India's comprehensive national strength. Modi proposed the strategic goal of transforming from a "balanced power" to a "leading power", implementing the "Made in India" plan domestically, expanding regional and global influence externally, seeking to become an important pillar under the "Indo Pacific New Order", and shaping competitive advantages in the great power game.

New positioning of Modi government's great power strategy

Modi government took advantage of opportunities such as the collective rise of the global south, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the reconstruction of the global supply chain to reshape India's international image, so as to enhance its international status and influence. India seeks to become the spokesperson for the global South, shaping its leadership position through the Non Aligned Movement and an independent foreign policy. The Modi government shapes a collective identity with third world countries through the Global South Policy, providing experience guidance and financial assistance to enhance influence and cohesion. India sees itself as a bridge between the global North and South, playing a strategic balancing role while enhancing its economic strength and international influence through economic exchanges with countries in the global South. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India took a neutral position, maintained the balance between the United States and Russia, waited for the opportunity to act as a mediator, and sent a signal of diplomatic strategy innovation. India's neutral stance reflects the important position of Russia India relations in its foreign strategy, and India maintains friendly relations with Russia for security reasons. India is attempting to play the role of a mediator and enhance its strategic value between the United States and Russia. The Modi government sees manufacturing and technology as new growth engines, positioning themselves as global manufacturing centers and technology leaders, accelerating their integration into the global supply chain, striving to become a replacement for China, and achieving economic takeoff. India has proposed the 'Make in India' plan, focusing on industries such as biotechnology and information technology, promoting investment, reforming administration, and increasing the proportion of manufacturing in GDP. The Indian economy is showing a trend of rapid growth and has become a priority choice for many multinational companies to implement the China+1 strategy. The technology sector is another important engine of the Indian economy, and India regards the effective utilization of emerging technologies as the key to becoming the world's third-largest economy, with the goal of becoming a global technology leader.

Specific Measures of the Modi Government's Great Power Strategy

The Modi government has taken multiple specific measures to achieve its national strategic goals. Firstly, India promotes the concept of "reformed multilateralism" and enhances its voice in the "global South" through multilateral cooperation mechanisms, including including including the issue of UN Security Council seats on the agenda, promoting North South cooperation through the G20 and G7 platforms, and creating and participating in multilateral cooperation mechanisms with countries from the South as the main body. Secondly, India implements a balance of power diplomacy in US Russia relations, stabilizes and enhances its relationship with Russia, and achieves a "strategic rebalancing" between the US and Russia. At the same time, India is accelerating its layout in the manufacturing and technology sectors, seeking to become a substitute for China in the global supply chain restructuring, including using high financial support to promote industrial upgrading, establishing India's global brand effect in traditional and emerging manufacturing industries, and planning the development path of high-precision and cutting-edge technology from a global perspective, continuously promoting India's strategic vision of "rejuvenating the country through science and technology". India has identified 25 key technology areas, including IoT technology, artificial intelligence, and big data, as key technologies and launched a five-year "National Task for Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems". In addition, India has promoted the digital development model as an agenda for foreign cooperation, developing public digital infrastructure such as the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Digital Identity (Aadhaar) collectively known as the "India Stack", which has contributed up to 11.74% of India's GDP to the digital economy.

The Impact of Modi's Great Power Strategy on China India Relations

China India relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the Asia Pacific region and even globally, and the Modi government's great power strategy has had a profound impact on China India relations. During Modi's tenure, India placed Sino Indian relations in a diplomatic subordinate position as a tool to achieve the will of a major power, leading to fluctuations and twists in Sino Indian relations. India regards China as a threat and competitor, has a negative attitude towards the "the Belt and Road" initiative, and is wary of China's maritime influence in the Asia Pacific region. At the same time, the US India relations are warming up, and China India relations become victims. In 2020, India provoked the conflict in the Galwan Valley, adopted the economic "decoupling" policy towards China, and cut off the cultural exchanges between the two countries. But with the changing international situation, India has adjusted its major power strategic goals, worked hard to shape a new image of a great power, revitalized its economy, developed manufacturing and high-tech industries, and realized that economic development and global governance cannot do without China's help. It has taken the initiative to ease tensions with China and achieve the "ice breaking" and "restart" of China India relations. The US India relationship is an important pillar of India's great power strategy, and the US factor is a major variable affecting China India relations. The direction of China India relations is constrained by the framework of the trilateral relationship between China, the United States, and India. India takes advantage of its "swing country" characteristics to place a bet between China and the United States, maximizing its own interests. Xi Jinping pointed out that China and India should adhere to viewing their relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and seek a path of peaceful coexistence, mutual trust and mutual benefit, and common development. But the Indian side believes that the competitiveness of relations with China is greater than cooperation, and regards South South cooperation as a geopolitical game, with China being the biggest competitor. India lacks initiative in advancing issues in BRICS cooperation and instead balances China's influence. Modi's third term as a major power has shifted the strategic focus towards economic development, bringing limited opportunities for economic cooperation between China and India. India implements a policy of decoupling its economic and trade relations with China, but the fact that it is highly dependent on the Chinese economy cannot be changed. In 2024, China India relations will be reconciled, and India will revise its discriminatory economic and trade policies towards China, consider relaxing restrictions on some Chinese investments, simplify visa application processes, and allow Chinese apps to return to the Indian market. However, the opportunities for economic cooperation between China and India are limited and the process is slow. It is necessary to gradually achieve investment and trade normalization on the basis of establishing political trust between the two sides.

Five concluding remarks

The Modi government has made profound adjustments to the strategy of a major country in the 21st century, aiming to improve its international status and voice, and become the spokesman of the global south, the mediator of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the global manufacturing and technological innovation center. India's policy towards China has eased, presenting opportunities for economic cooperation between China and India, but competition still outweighs cooperation. India has a complex mentality, seeking both stable relations with China and hoping for concessions from China. The Indian side needs to start from the overall situation, abandon narrow thinking, and promote cooperation between China and India. The improvement and development of China India relations are in line with the fundamental interests of both countries, conducive to safeguarding the rights and interests of countries in the global South, and contributing to peace and stability in Asia and the world.