The Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Michigan, along with the university's Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies and the Nam Center for Korean Studies, sponsored the third edition of the Asia in Headlines seminar, titled "India, China, and Trump 2.0," in January 2025.
This collaborative, well-attended event aimed to comprehensively analyze the evolving dynamics between the United States, India, and China in the context of President Trump's second term. It featured two panel discussions and a roundtable session, each focusing on critical aspects of international relations, trade, security, and regional stability.
"We are so good at so many things, at putting things in context and giving you deep historical and sociological and political understanding. But, we are not that good at telling you what's going on right now," said Madhumita Lahiri, CSAS director and U-M English professor, as she kicked off the event.
"Asia in the Headlines allows us to think about exactly where the interface between academic work and public journalistic work can happen. And in thinking about that interface, what we're doing here is a kind of public humanities project; what can the university bring to a larger public conversation when we bring that public conversation into our own spaces."
The first panel examined US-India relations and featured Michael Kugelman, the South Asia Institute director at the Wilson Center, and Seema Sirohi, an Indian journalist and Economic Times columnist. It was moderated by Kunal Majumder, an Indian journalist and a Knight-Wallace fellow at U-M.
"The question before us is, what a second Trump administration might mean for India," said Seema Sirohi in her opening.
"US-India relations have improved steadily under five different US presidents, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden. Today, India and the US work together in almost every domain, thanks to the value both Republicans and Democrats see in the partnership. In other words, India enjoys bipartisan support."
Sirohi further discussed why and how she thinks India has successfully developed this relationship and why, based on his last term in office, she feels India is not anxious about a second Trump presidency. As she discussed possible scenarios that could change the relationship between the two countries, she also talked about what role she sees China possibly playing.
Michael Kugelman covered some of the minefields for India and the US with Trump in power again, including Iran and tariffs.
"There's a trade imbalance in India's favor," said Kugelman. "I think this makes India a top candidate for tariffs, and the latest I've heard from various sources is that India could face tariff increases of ten percent during Trump's initial days in office unless something changes."
The second panel explored anticipated developments in US-China relations during President Trump's second term. This panel included Yun Sun, senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia Program and director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, and Mark Magnier, US deputy bureau chief of the South China Morning Post. It was moderated by Ann Chih Lin, Kenneth G. Lieberthal and Richard H. Rogel professor of Chinese Studies and associate professor at the Ford School of Public Policy.
The roundtable discussion, the day's last event, featured all the speakers and addressed navigating US strategy in the Indo-Pacific amid India-China dynamics. The lively talk featured various perspectives on how the two countries will handle the power struggle in the region and how the Trump administration could react to it.
