Xi-Trump meet: US wooing China means it's abandoning India? Shishir Gupta explains Delhi's strategy

Point Blank examines the Trump–Xi state visit amid intense U.S.–China competition over Taiwan, trade, artificial intelligence, the Indo-Pacific and China’s strategic alignment with Russia and North Korea. HT Executive Editor Shishir Gupta argues that the Washington summit delivered strong optics but few publicly visible breakthroughs on core disputes. The discussion also assesses India’s strategic autonomy, its defence and energy-security challenges amid the Iran conflict, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s UN message that India reserves the right to respond to threats and terrorism.