India, Aug. 7 -- During a visit to China in early July, this author had the opportunity to engage a wide spectrum of Chinese interlocutors to gauge the mood in Beijing towards India. It also provided a glimpse into China's outlook towards the US in the Trump 2.0 era.

A general view among Chinese scholars and intellectuals was that Trump's policies have created great uncertainty, with a retrograde push towards de-globalisation. The core of US-China competition is technology. Cyber technologies and AI are adding to the complexity.

The mood in Beijing was more confident and combative towards the US than during the Biden administration. There was widespread conviction that the US was in decline. Ironically, Chinese interlocutors viewed Trum...