Washington, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
US President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with leaders of the Quad grouping during his Asia trip could provide fresh momentum to Washington’s relationship with India and strengthen its diplomatic position ahead of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, former diplomats and policy experts have said.
The meeting, involving the United States, India, Japan and Australia, would be the first gathering of Quad leaders during Trump’s current administration.
Edgard Kagan, former US ambassador to Malaysia and now Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), described the planned meeting as an important step towards rebuilding ties with New Delhi.
He said the absence of a leaders-level Quad meeting had caused disappointment and coincided with tensions between Washington and New Delhi. Holding the meeting before Trump’s visit to China would also signal the importance Washington attaches to its regional partnerships, including its relationship with India.
Kagan noted that Quad foreign ministers had already held several meetings, including one in Atlanta, but argued that engagement at the presidential level would carry greater diplomatic significance.
Trump’s wider Asia itinerary includes engagements linked to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Experts said commercial agreements and trade initiatives were likely to feature prominently during the trip.
Victor Cha, president of CSIS’s Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair, said the administration was pursuing trade agreements during the Southeast Asian leg. One proposal under consideration could encourage ASEAN countries to adopt US artificial intelligence technology, potentially supported by development assistance. However, Cha said it was unclear whether regional governments had accepted the proposal.
Gregory Poling, director of the CSIS Southeast Asia Program, also cautioned that the details of Trump’s engagement with ASEAN as an organisation remained uncertain.
On China, Kagan said signals from the White House suggested Trump’s interaction with Xi at APEC could be largely a courtesy meeting, with the administration seeking to keep expectations modest.
More substantive discussions were expected in Miami about three weeks later, Cha said. Potential issues included trade arrangements, an artificial intelligence safety dialogue and Washington’s concerns over China’s implementation of commitments on rare earth exports.
Kagan said economic tensions persisted despite the trade truce, with the United States and its allies, particularly Japan, raising concerns about supplies of rare earth materials.
“China needs to follow through on its commitments,” he said.
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