India and China ties are witnessing improvement in the past few years since the border standoff in Ladakh, marked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first-ever visit to the country in the last 7years to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin from August 30. The world is keeping close watch at the summit, especially the West. Although New Delhi and Beijing moved towards normalising ties by agreeing to disengage troops from two friction points in Demchok and Depsang Plains in the Eastern Ladakh sector last year, the turning point came in the form of US President Donald Trump's tariff war.
Trump has imposed a total of 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports to the US, citing New Delhi's oil trade with Russia. He also imposed a whopping 145 per cent reciprocal tariffs on China, but paused them until mid-November at the last minute earlier this month. It proved to be a downward point in China-US ties and brought a thaw in India-China relations.
India's reaction: Diversifying trade markets
The Indian government has stood firm against the levies, calling them "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable", stressing that New Delhi's energy security choices cannot be dictated from outside. Even PM Modi himself, on multiple occasions, has refused to budge on the tariffs and compromise on the welfare of the country's farmers, small traders and MSMEs, vowing to bear the pressure.
Faced with punitive tariffs, New Delhi is now seeking to diversify markets away from the US. Multiple media reports noted that the Centre has pledged support for exporters and is turning towards China, Latin America and the Middle East as alternative trade destinations.
China steps in with support
Beijing has seized the opportunity to extend support. China's ambassador in New Delhi, Xu Feihong, sharply criticised the US tariffs, declaring that "silence only emboldens the bully" and pledging backing for India within a multilateral trade framework. This proved to be significant, especially in the backdrop of PM Modi's SCO visit. Multiple such instances have taken place since then, reflecting China's will to strengthen ties and hold New Delhi as a key strategic and trade partner.
Adding to this, Xi Jinping reportedly sent a "confidential letter" to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi, expressing concern over how Washington's actions threatened the region and calling for closer engagement. Analysts described the move as a turning point in reviving frozen India-China diplomacy.
This was substantiated with an X post from Feihong in April, wherein he spoke of a letter written by Jinping, congratulating India on the 75th anniversary establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India.
"Both sides should view and handle China-India relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and seek ways for neighbouring major countries to get along in peaceful coexistence, mutual trust and mutual benefit, and common development, and jointly push forward world multipolarization and democracy in international relations," the ambassador wrote in his post.
On Friday, he again hailed the partnership, calling India and China the "twin engines of Asia's economic growth".
Renewed ties after years of strain, push to BRICS
American economist Richard Wolff even slammed the United States for acting like the "world’s tough guy" towards India, cautioning that Washington’s approach is backfiring by accelerating the rise of BRICS as an economic alternative to the West.
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