The aggressive trade policies of President Donald Trump are inadvertently pushing India towards a strategic alignment with China.

From talks on resuming direct flights to a series of high-level bilateral visits, longtime rivals China and India are quietly and cautiously strengthening ties against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable approach to both.

With threats of tariffs up to 50 percent, President Trump seems to be scrapping America’s plan to turn India into a counterweight to China, declaring instead that it is a “dead economy.”