China expresses 'surprise' over clarification on Jaishankar's comments on Taiwan
India on Tuesday said there is no change in its position on Taiwan, and New Delhi's relationship with it focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties.
"We are surprised at India's clarification," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a media briefing. She was replying to a question from China's official media on reports of India's clarification over Jaishankar's remarks.
The clarification came after the Chinese foreign ministry reportedly misquoted Jaishankar as saying during his talks with Wang that Taiwan is part of China.
The Chinese spokesperson on Thursday claimed that Beijing finds it "inconsistent with the facts".
"It would seem that some people in India have tried to undermine China's sovereignty on the Taiwan question and impede the improvement of China-India relations. China expresses serious concern and firmly opposes that," Mao said.
"Let me stress that there is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. This is a prevailing consensus among the international community, including India," she claimed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
11 minutes ago
- Hans India
India-Russia Strengthen Partnership Through Energy Cooperation And Balanced Trade Discussions
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov engaged in comprehensive discussions in Moscow on Thursday, focusing on expanding bilateral trade relationships in a sustainable manner while ensuring long-term supply arrangements for critical commodities including fertilizers and maintaining robust energy cooperation. The high-level diplomatic engagement emphasized that India-Russia relations remain among the world's most stable major partnerships, driven by geopolitical alignment and strong public support. The ministerial talks took place one day after Jaishankar co-chaired a bilateral trade and economic commission meeting, highlighting the strategic importance both nations place on strengthening their economic ties. During the discussions, Jaishankar addressed several pressing concerns affecting bilateral relations, including India's substantial trade deficit with Russia, non-tariff barriers that impede commerce, regulatory obstacles, and the sensitive issue of Indian nationals serving in the Russian military. Following his discussions with Lavrov, Jaishankar also held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is anticipated to visit India later this year for a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This diplomatic engagement occurred against the backdrop of Jaishankar's recent meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi, aimed at normalizing India-China relations, while tensions with Washington continue to escalate over trade disputes and punitive American tariffs on Indian goods. Opening the formal discussions, Jaishankar emphasized the global context shaping their bilateral engagement, noting the evolving geopolitical landscape, shifting economic and trade dynamics, and both countries' shared objective of maximizing their complementary strengths. Lavrov responded by highlighting the special significance of India-Russia relations, particularly as the world witnesses the emergence of new international relationship architectures. During a joint press conference following their talks, Jaishankar characterized India-Russia ties as representing one of the world's steadiest major relationships, with geopolitical convergence and popular sentiment serving as fundamental driving forces. He stressed that as both nations work toward expanding bilateral trade, growth must occur in a balanced and sustainable fashion through increased Indian exports and resolution of non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments. The trade relationship presents both opportunities and challenges, with bilateral commerce reaching a record $68.7 billion in 2024-25. However, this figure masks a significant imbalance, as India's exports totaled merely $4.88 billion compared to much larger Russian exports to India. This disparity has grown dramatically, expanding nine-fold from $6.6 billion to $58.9 billion over the past four years, creating an urgent need for corrective measures. Jaishankar emphasized that enhancing Indian exports in key sectors including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and textiles would help address this substantial trade imbalance. Both sides explored strategies to ensure sustained fertilizer supplies and maintain energy cooperation through expanded trade and investment arrangements. Russia currently supplies nearly 40 percent of India's energy requirements, with Indian imports of petroleum and crude oil valued at $53 billion in 2024, according to United Nations data aggregation. The discussions addressed practical measures to enhance economic cooperation, including improved mobility arrangements for skilled Indian workers to meet Russia's labor demands, particularly in information technology, construction, and engineering sectors. Jaishankar advocated for expediting the establishment of two Indian consulates in Kazan and Yekaterinburg to facilitate these enhanced economic linkages. Both ministers examined connectivity initiatives designed to deepen economic relationships and reduce transit times, including the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor, and the Northern Sea Route. These infrastructure projects represent strategic investments in long-term economic partnership between the two nations. Jaishankar described defense and military cooperation as robust, emphasizing Russia's support for India's "Make in India" initiatives through joint production arrangements and technology transfer programs. This collaboration continues despite criticism from the United States regarding India's defense procurement from Russia. A sensitive topic addressed during the talks involved Indian nationals serving in the Russian Army. Jaishankar acknowledged progress in resolving these cases while noting ongoing concerns, stating that while many individuals had been released, pending cases and missing persons remained issues requiring expeditious resolution from Russian authorities. According to official Indian data, 126 Indians were recruited by Russian military forces, with 12 fatalities during combat operations in Ukraine. Russian authorities discharged 96 individuals, while 16 others remained listed as missing. Regional security issues featured prominently in the discussions, including developments in Ukraine, West Asia, and Afghanistan, along with India's ongoing struggle against cross-border terrorism. Jaishankar reiterated India's diplomatic approach emphasizing dialogue and diplomacy for conflict resolution, while affirming that India and Russia would jointly combat all forms of terrorism. He conveyed India's unwavering commitment to zero-tolerance policies against terrorism and the nation's sovereign right to defend citizens against cross-border terrorist activities. The ministerial engagement served as preparation for the anticipated Modi-Putin summit, with Jaishankar noting that both sides were developing concrete outcomes for the high-level meeting. He emphasized that practical steps were being implemented to ensure substantial growth in the bilateral relationship beyond diplomatic rhetoric. These discussions occurred as India navigates complex international relationships, balancing its traditional partnership with Russia against growing tensions with the United States over trade policies. The meetings demonstrate India's commitment to maintaining strategic autonomy while pursuing its national interests across multiple international partnerships. The talks reflected both countries' determination to strengthen their partnership despite external pressures and changing global dynamics. By addressing practical challenges including trade imbalances, regulatory barriers, and human resource mobility, both sides demonstrated commitment to building a more robust and sustainable partnership capable of withstanding international political pressures. The comprehensive agenda covered during the Jaishankar-Lavrov talks illustrates the multifaceted nature of India-Russia relations, encompassing energy security, defense cooperation, trade expansion, technological collaboration, and regional security concerns. This diplomatic engagement reinforces both nations' commitment to deepening their strategic partnership while adapting to evolving global circumstances and maintaining their respective national interests in an increasingly complex international environment.
News18
12 minutes ago
- News18
"To Govern, Stabilize And Develop" China's Xi Urges Unity As He Makes Rare Visit To Tibet
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged unity on a surprise visit to Tibet, appearing before 20,000 people to mark 60 years since China created the autonomous region after annexing it. In what is only his second presidential visit to the tightly-controlled region, Xi praised the local government for "engaging in a thorough struggle against separatism" - a reference to decades-old Tibetan resistance to Beijing. Xi Jinping did not mention the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has been living in exile in India since he fled in 1959. n18oc_crux
NDTV
16 minutes ago
- NDTV
India-Russia Partnership "Steadiest" Since World War II: S Jaishankar
Moscow: India and Russia on Thursday vowed to expand their bilateral trade in a "balanced" manner and sustain energy cooperation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, underlining the need to "swiftly" address non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments. The resolve by the two countries to enhance two-way trade, including by increasing Indian exports to Russia, came amid growing estrangement in ties between India and the US over President Donald Trump's policies on trade and tariffs. "We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War," Jaishankar said at a joint media briefing with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov after their wide-ranging talks. "Geo-political convergence, leadership contacts and popular sentiment remain its key drivers," he said. The external affairs minister landed in Moscow on Tuesday to fine-tune various elements of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India, either in November or December. In his opening remarks at the talks with Lavrov, Jaishankar said the "global context for our meeting today is provided by the evolving geopolitical situation, the shifting economic and trade landscape, and our shared goal is to maximise our complementarity". The two foreign ministers also deliberated on ways to combat terrorism. "On terrorism, we resolved to fight jointly against all forms and manifestations of terrorism," the external affairs minister said. "I conveyed India's strong resolve to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and our sovereign right to defend our citizens against cross-border terrorism." It appeared from Jaishankar's remarks at the media briefing that boosting two-way trade was a major focus of his talks with both Manturov and Lavrov. "We reaffirmed our shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India's exports to Russia," he said. "This requires swiftly addressing non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments. Enhancing Indian exports to Russia in sectors like pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and textiles will certainly help to correct the current imbalance," he said. "Steps to ensure the long-term supply of fertilisers were also taken up. Indian skilled workers, especially in IT, construction, and engineering, can address the labour needs in Russia and deepen collaboration." Jaishankar said sustaining energy cooperation through trade and investments is also important. The external affairs minister also took up the issue of some Indians serving in the Russian Army. "While many have been released, there are still some pending cases and some missing persons. We hope that the Russian side will expeditiously resolve these matters," he said. In the meeting, Jaishankar and Lavrov reaffirmed the shared commitment of India and Russia to the reform of global governance. "We underlined the imperative to expand and energise the UN Security Council to reflect contemporary realities. Our collaboration in G20, BRICS and the SCO remains deep-rooted and forward-looking," he said. The two sides also deliberated on the situation in Ukraine, West Asia and Afghanistan. "I want to say that India's approach continues to emphasise dialogue and diplomacy as essential to resolving differences," Jaishankar said. In his opening remarks at the meeting with Lavrov, the external affairs minister made a mention of the ongoing preparation for the annual India-Russia summit at the end of the year. "What I want today is to take those bilateral discussions forward so that we have the maximum outcomes for the Annual Summit when that happens," he said. It is learnt that India-Russia energy ties figured prominently in Jaishankar's talks with Lavrov. US President Trump this month issued an executive order slapping an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as a penalty for New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics. Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on Wednesday. The two sides are also understood to have deliberated on the Ukraine conflict. India has been consistently calling for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. In July last year, PM Modi travelled to Moscow and told Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed amid bombs and bullets. The next month, Modi visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and conveyed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the war.
