In 2018, the arrest of an executive with Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. for breaching U.S. laws shocked President Xi Jinping’s inner circle and raised questions over whether Donald Trump would intervene in the case.
Trump now faces a similar dilemma after U.S. prosecutors charged Gautam Adani — India’s most powerful businessman and a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — in a $250 million bribery scheme. While Modi’s party called it a private matter, and Adani’s company denied the allegations, the case threatens to roil U.S.-India diplomatic ties.
Although Trump didn’t intervene in the Huawei case, which was eventually settled in 2021 after he left office, on its face, he’ll have more incentive to make this case go away. Beyond Trump’s personal connection with Modi, the incoming U.S. president has packed his team with China hawks who want to see stronger ties with India to counterbalance Beijing’s power in the region.