The Idea of US-China G2: What It Means for India?: Interview of Major General Dr. S B Asthana by FPRC, India, Issue 67.
The idea of a US-China “G2” has resurfaced with renewed force as Washington and Beijing attempt to manage an increasingly complex relationship marked simultaneously by rivalry, economic interdependence and strategic competition.
But can two powers really co-manage a world that is increasingly multipolar, economically interconnected and technologically diffused?
In this exclusive FPRC Journal 67 (ISSN 2277 – 2464) , Major General Dr S B Asthana, SM, VSM, PhD (Veteran), examines the structural viability of the G2 concept, President Donald Trump’s evolving China policy, the strategic calculations behind the Trump-Xi engagement, and the implications for India.
The interview argues that the world is not moving towards a clean bipolar order. Instead, it is witnessing what can better be described as “adversarial coexistence under conditions of mutual dependence.”
For India, both US-China accommodation and confrontation carry risks. The answer, therefore, is neither alignment nor passive neutrality, but strategic autonomy backed by economic resilience, technological self-reliance, diversified partnerships and flexible diplomacy.
The interview also examines whether the Indo-Pacific is developing a “G-Minus-Two” architecture and concludes that the emerging reality is better understood as a lattice of overlapping mini-laterals rather than a coherent third bloc.
