Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to India achieved a significant goal: to resolve the bilateral border dispute and ensure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. It’s not a reaction to the U.S.-India tariff tensions, but a realistic policy compulsion felt by India.

The foreign policy of the new government in India will likely be a continuum from previous years. But as election outcomes in other parts of the democratic world witness a transformation, India should prepare for flexibility in its policy – and keep up its guard.