India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) arrives to present 'Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita and Maitri' (BHISHM) portable medical cubes to the President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu (R) during his state visit in Male on July 25, 2025. Photo:VCG

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $565-million credit line and launched free trade talks with the Maldives on Friday during a visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago. However, Modi's visit to the Maldives was interpreted by some Indian media outlets as a demonstration of India's success in eclipsing China's influence in the Maldives.

Chinese experts criticized such rhetoric, describing it as a reflection of the Indian media's "outdated" mind-set, which is rooted in a purely adversarial, zero-sum game mentality.

Modi's two-day trip has been aimed at boosting India's development partnership with the Maldives, and he said the credit line was central to that goal, per Reuters.

Modi is the first foreign leader to visit Muizzu since he took office in 2023, pledging at the time to end the Maldives' "India first" policy, and taking steps to strengthen ties with China, according to Reuters.

Some Indian media outlets portrayed Modi's visit as a victory against Chinese influence. An article titled "Muizzu's U-turn: India in, China out? Maldives seemingly pivots again as PM Modi offers big incentives," published on the Times of India, highlighted that Muizzu now calls India a "trusted friend" and rolled out the red carpet for PM Modi, breaking with protocol to personally receive him at the airport.

The Hindustan Times reported that months after spearheading the "India Out" campaign, Muizzu has "stunned Beijing with a dramatic policy shift calling India the "first responder" and "most trusted partner."

Some Indian media outlets often view the Maldives' relations with China and India through a geopolitical adversarial lens; however, the Maldives is a sovereign nation that naturally prioritizes its relationship with neighboring India while actively pursuing a diversified foreign policy which includes strengthening its ties with China and aligning with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times. He further noted that this serves the interests of the Maldives and that these two approaches are not mutually exclusive.

"This mind-set in Indian media reflects an outdated geopolitical adversarial perspective, trapped in a zero-sum game mentality," said Qian.

During his visit to China in January, Muizzu said the Maldives is willing to always be China's closest partner, continuously consolidate their traditional friendship, strengthen cooperation in various fields, and push for greater development of bilateral relations, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The Maldives appreciates China's leadership in safeguarding world peace and stability and is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in international and regional affairs to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, Muizzu said.