As Obama visits China, India will be watching

The detailed itinerary of the US President Barack Obama's first-ever visit to China, starting Sunday, is well guarded. But it's clear that behind the scenes of his global rather than bilateral agenda in Beijing lies relevance for India's changing ties with the two powers. Beijing has flashed three major signals ahead of Obama's four-nation tour of which the longest, four-day, stay will be in China. China hinted that it may allow the undervalued yuan to appreciate against major currencies. An official think-tank leaked figures suggesting that China should aim to cut carbon intensity by 4 or 5 per cent year-on-year by 2050. The foreign ministry painted the visit in words of "new era", but issued a terse statement against "foreign leaders" meeting the Dalai Lama. On Tibet, Beijing won't budge. But the outcome of the talks between Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao will impact India's trade with China and climate change diplomacy. Will Obama's visit also shape the linkages of Sino-US-India relations? Beijing's view of India-US relations is thinly disguised distrust that they aim to contain China.