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The Print
a day ago
- Business
- The Print
China steps in with potshots at US as Trump-India spat continues
The statement by Guo was posted by Yu Jing, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in New Delhi, on the social media platform X. Yu has been particularly active in the last few days, sharing statements in support of India, seemingly, as its ties with the US remain tense. 'China's opposition to the abuse of tariffs is consistent and clear,' said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun Thursday, responding to a question in connection with the imposition of additional tariffs of 25 percent on India by US President Donald Trump earlier this week. New Delhi: The ongoing US-India spat has caught China's attention. From the foreign ministry in Beijing to its embassy in India, Chinese officials have taken several potshots at the US for its imposition of tariffs, as well as the state of ties between New Delhi and Washington, D.C. For a long time, New Delhi has been a key ally for the US and its Western partners, especially in their larger plan to check the rise of China as the sole power in the Indo-Pacific. Over the past few years, several organisations, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, incorporating the US, Australia, Japan, and India, and the I2U2, comprising the US, Israel, India, and the UAE, have been established, further embedding New Delhi in the larger multilateral system led by Washington, D.C. However, ties between India and the US have seen setbacks with Trump taking aim at New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil, accusing the country of supporting Moscow's war machine. Furthermore, the American President is annoyed with the lack of progress in the negotiations for a trade deal between New Delhi and Washington, D.C. 'Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile,' Xu Feihong, the Chinese ambassador to India, said in a post on the social media platform X, sharing a quote from a conversation between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Celso Amorim, the chief adviser to the President of Brazil. In another post earlier Friday, Xu shared an image, comparing Chinese trade policies with those of the US. Xu asserted that Beijing had opened its markets to Brazil, highlighting approvals to 183 new Brazilian companies for export to the country. The US, in comparison, slapped a tariff on Brazilian coffee exports, Xu wrote. 'India's sovereignty is non-negotiable and its foreign policy choices cannot be manipulated by other countries, no matter how significant their own ties with India are,' Yu shared in a post on X, quoting from an editorial in the newspaper, The Hindu. Chinese embassy officials have been active on social media platforms over the last year. They usually share India-China and their historical ties. The embassy had, in the past, taken to social media to press the Indian government on changing its China policy, as well. For instance, in July 2024, the Chinese embassy took to X to push India to resume direct air connectivity with it, which had been on pause since the COVID-19 pandemic. The embassy also urged New Delhi to resume tourist visas for Chinese nationals. At the time, ties between India and China were tense due to unresolved issues stemming from the clashes at Galwan in the summer months of 2020. However, a couple of months later, both countries reached an agreement to disengage at the friction points across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on 21 October. The disengagement agreement set the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on 23 October in the Russian city of Kazan, on the margins of the BRICS summit. Since then, New Delhi and Beijing have introduced confidence-building measures to restore some semblance of normalcy in ties. Last month, China's embassy, along with its foreign ministry, apart from social media posts promoting BRICS, shared several posts on the potential resumption of Russia-India-China trilateral dialogues. Modi will likely travel to China at the end of this month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit of Heads of States. It would be his first visit to China since June 2018, when he visited the city of Qingdao in China for a former SCO summit. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Congress reminds Jaishankar of China's 'support' to Pakistan in Op Sindoor after his talks with Wang Yi
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Don't bend to the U.S.'s threats, Left parties urge Centre
The Left parties have strongly condemned American President Donald Trump's imposition of 50% tariff on Indian exports, calling it a 'bullying tactic'. They urged the Union government to firmly assert the nation's strategic autonomy. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Bureau in a statement here said that Mr. Trump's announcement was 'arbitrary, dictatorial and reflects the bullying tactics of the U.S. administration'. 'The U.S. and the EU are attempting to arm twist countries like India for continuing trade relations with Russia, even as they themselves continue to trade with Russia,' the party said, urging the Indian government to stand firm and resist succumbing to pressure from the U.S. 'The government must take immediate steps to protect the interests of Indian exporters who will be adversely affected by these tariff hikes,' the statement said. The CPI(M) also called upon its units to organise protests on the issue. The blatant weaponisation of trade relations was an attack on India's autonomy, and a crude attempt to enforce an exclusionary and decadent U.S.-led world order, CPI general secretary D. Raja said. 'Such actions are aimed at coercing independent nations into submission, and undermining their right to pursue sovereign foreign and economic policies,' he said. The Indian government should not allow the U.S. to continue with its threats and trade aggression, Mr. Raja said. 'India must firmly assert its strategic autonomy and reject any external diktats on whom it engages economically or politically. The increasing tilt in India's foreign policy towards the United States through arrangements like the Quad (the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S.) is short-sighted and dangerous,' Mr. Raja said.
India Today
2 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Trumping the India-US strategic partnership
A decade ago, the mutual fear of a rising China, trust and economic opportunity, drew Washington and New Delhi into a strategic embrace. India was termed a major defence partner of the US and the strategic partnership enjoyed bipartisan support in the US under both Democrat and Republican Presidential policymakers heralded the relationship as the most significant partnership of the 21st century. This climate of trust saw India buying worth over $20 billion worth of arms since 2008. India conducts more exercises with the US than it does with any other country and is part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad with the US, Japan and August 6, President Donald Trump rammed the geopolitical equivalent of an explosive-laden truck into the edifice of the Indo-US strategic partnership. He topped up an existing 25% tariff regime with an additional 25% tariff, making India one of only two countries to have a 50% tariff regime. Trump said the high tariffs were in response to India purchasing Russian oil, but they could also be a bargaining ploy ahead of an August 25 visit by a US delegation to New Delhi where the US would like to extract the best possible terms for a deal from India. By targeting India for buying Russian oil, Trump wants to turn the screws on President Vladimir Putin, whom he has tried to unsuccessfully get to halt the war in Ukraine. But it is Trump's harsh social media statements and the US' double standards which have caused great consternation in South Block. While imposing the first batch of tariffs on India on July 30, Trump called India a 'dead economy' and later dropped taunts by saying India could buy oil from arch-enemy a strongly worded statement on May 4, New Delhi called Russian oil imports a "vital national compulsion" and called out the US hypocrisy in targeting India with tariffs when Western nations, including the United States, continue to trade with Russia, buying titanium, uranium hexafluoride, palladium and fertilisers. Scott Ritter, a former US military official, posted on X that the US imported more than $3 billion worth of Russian goods in 2024 'that pays for around 660 T-90 tanks. That's enough to equip two Russian armoured divisions. Think about that the next time Trump lectures India.'New Delhi is alarmed not just by US double standards or Trump tantrums but by an alarming drift towards Pakistan, a country that seems to offer very little to the US, at least until now. On June 19, Trump hosted Pakistan's military chief and de-facto ruler, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at the White luncheon came less than two months after Pakistani terrorists massacred Indian tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. This massacre saw India launch retaliatory strikes against Pakistan. Trump has repeatedly hyphenated India and Pakistan by saying he had played peacemaker, a claim New Delhi has vehemently denied. In his first statement on May 12, Trump claimed he had used trade as a weapon to get India to stop the war. New Delhi could well ask whether its substantial US-made arsenal of transport aircraft, helicopters and jets could become tools for diplomatic have been past precedents. In 1998, US sanctions that followed India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests grounded a small fleet of Indian choppers with US components and delayed India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. More recently, unnamed 'supply chain issues' delayed the delivery of critically needed US-made GE-404 engines for the LCA Tejas. In sharp contrast, Russia has been a far more trustworthy defence partner. Despite fighting a war in Ukraine for over three years, Russia has ensured timely delivery of the BrahMos' ramjet engine which powers the missile to nearly three times the speed of twin strikes on May 7 and May 10, the BrahMos missile shattered Pakistani terror training camps and airbases. It was the star of Operation Sindoor. The BrahMos was developed under a partnership steered by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Vladimir Putin 25 years ago. This was also around the time when the India-US relationship formally took off. President Bill Clinton's five-day state visit to India in March 2000, the first by a sitting US President in two decades and signalled a thaw in the India-US ties since then buried the baggage of the Cold War where the US overtly backed Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak War and resorted to gunboat diplomacy by sending the USS Enterprise carrier battle group into the Indian 2008 Indo-US civil nuclear deal was the first major milestone in the partnership — it ended India's nuclear pariah status and enabled access to advance dual-use technology for space and defence use, components for its civil nuclear programme, fuel for its reactors through the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver, tacitly accepted its nuclear weapons and opened access to a range of western-dominated clubs like the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).Tariffs may not be a long-term threat to the India-US relationship. The edifice of the Indo-US strategic partnership set up since the nuclear deal has survived such tremors. In 2018, India ducked possible US sanctions by purchasing S-400 air defence missiles from Russia. In 2025, India will drive a bargain on the trade deal with the US by buying US oil instead of Russian, bringing up over $60 billion in commercial jet orders that Air India and Akasa have placed on Boeing. It might even throw in carrots like the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet, additional Boeing P-8I Poseidons and additional military hardware like Stryker armoured vehicles to try and get Trump to limit the damage. In recent days, the US halved tariffs from the European Union from a threatened 30% to an eventual 15% and from 25% on the UK to an eventual 10%.advertisementSouth Korea secured a 15% rate instead of 25% by offering $350 billion in investments and more energy imports from the Delhi will then ride out the Trump storm for the next four years and hope for a more reasonable successor in the Oval Office in the dents to the edifice of the Indo-US partnership caused by a mercurial, whimsical American President will live past his tenure. India's political class and the bureaucracy have long memories. As the saying goes, you can have fear or trust, you cannot have both.(Sandeep Unnithan is an author and senior journalist. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Chakra Newz, a digital media platform)- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
India eyes a secret weapon in trade tussle with US
At a time of worsening ties with the US, New Delhi is looking to leverage a strategic tool in its trade talks with America: Its position in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), two Asian initiatives led by the US. While the Quad is a strategic dialogue between the US, India, Australia, and Japan aimed to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, the IPEF is a 14-nation effort to deepen economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Quad, though not a trade bloc, plays a strategic role in coordinating security and economic alignment among member nations. For Washington, both Quad and IPEF are critical forums to counter China's growing economic and strategic clout while fostering supply chain resilience, technological standard-setting, and regional integration. New Delhi's strategy shift comes ahead of a Quad meeting in India later this year that US President Donald Trump is expected to attend. 'Every sovereign nation has the right to utilize all available channels to secure a deal that serves the interests of the country and its people," said a person familiar with the Indian government's thinking. 'For any meaningful partnership, support must be mutual. One-sided expectations don't work in trade negotiations," this person said on condition of anonymity. The move reflects New Delhi's intent to convert its geopolitical leverage into tangible economic gains, with a US team scheduled to visit New Delhi on 25 August for a sixth round of face-to-face negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. Queries sent to spokespersons of the ministries of commerce, external affairs, the Prime Minister's Office, the US Embassy in New Delhi, and the US Trade Representative remained unanswered. Additional bargaining power India currently faces the highest reciprocal tariff rate among Quad members, with a steep 25% US duty on its goods and an unspecified penalty for buying Russian oil. Japan—despite securing what Trump described as a "historic deal"—will face a 15% duty on its exports to the US, reduced from 25%. Australia will pay a lower 10% duty, imposed from 2 April. Despite several diplomatic overtures and trade concessions to skirt the revised US tariff framework, India remains under US scrutiny. Trump, during both his first and second terms, has repeatedly branded India as the 'tariff king", an assertion that casts a shadow over the ongoing trade talks. 'New Delhi has consistently adopted a calibrated approach in trade negotiations and other agreements. The reduction in duties in the Union Budget, which brought down the country's average customs duty rate from 11.65% to 10.66%, reflects India's commitment to fostering a more open trade environment. Mutual concessions are expected from all sides," said a second person aware of the developments, also speaking on condition of anonymity. Experts say India's positioning in Quad and IPEF gives it added bargaining power in dealing with Washington. 'India has participated, negotiated, and signed three of the four pillars of IPEF, and it should not come under pressure to join the trade pillar. India should stick to its original stand," said Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a think tank. 'The foundation of the Quad was to counter China by elevating India. But if differences persist among Quad members, such as India having higher tariffs, progress on security cooperation could be limited. The US is unlikely to risk the strategic opportunity the Quad presents and may keep tariffs on India in abeyance to preserve momentum," said Amit Singh, associate professor, Special Centre for National Security Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. 'As per my understanding, the US will likely avoid raising tariffs on India, as it would want to keep the Quad process on track and ensure a favourable strategic outcome for itself," he added. 'Unjustified targeting' India has termed Trump's latest tariff threat on India for buying Russian oil as 'unjustified and unreasonable" targeting. The government asserted that, like any major economy, India would take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security. 'The US itself continues to import uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear sector, palladium for EVs, fertilizers and chemicals from Russia," the external affairs ministry said on Monday. The ministry noted that India's Russian oil purchases were driven by a need to secure affordable and reliable energy after traditional suppliers shifted exports to Europe at the start of the Ukraine conflict. 'At the time, the US had actively encouraged India's oil imports from Russia to help stabilize global markets," it added. 'India is part of Quad-led projects on new technologies like 5G, AI, quantum computing, and biotech, which strengthens its role in the US-backed plans. Its support for the IPEF clean economy pillar also matches its climate goals and can help bring in green finance, technology, and business partnerships," said Dattesh Parulekar, assistant professor of International Relations at Goa University. 'The stakes are higher this time, especially after the US imposed an additional 25% tariff on select imports. The outcome of these talks could significantly reset trade dynamics between the two economies," said Prabhat Ranjan, senior director at Nexdigm, a professional services firm. Marine, mineral links A 1 July joint statement after the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting announced the expansion of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) across the Indian Ocean, with enhanced satellite data sharing and training. The first workshop to address maritime capability gaps will be held in 2025. The Quad also launched the Critical Minerals Initiative to secure and diversify key mineral supply chains, including e-waste recovery. On the economic front, it committed to building resilient infrastructure and strengthening energy security. A logistics conference under the Ports of the Future Partnership will be held in Mumbai in October to promote port modernisation. The U.S. and India will also co-host an undersea cables forum to enhance digital infrastructure cooperation. In the technology space, the Quad will expand work on trusted digital systems, AI, semiconductors, biotech, and cybersecurity. The AI-ENGAGE initiative aims to drive agricultural innovation. The Quad STEM Fellowship has expanded to Japan, while India launched scholarships for 50 Indo-Pacific students to pursue undergraduate engineering degrees at Indian institutions. IPEF pillars India has already joined the IPEF pillars on supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy, giving it an important role in shaping future rules in the Indo-Pacific. Although it stayed out of the trade pillar due to concerns over binding rules and limited gains, India is still seen as a key player because of its strong manufacturing, digital economy, and clean-tech growth. India's involvement in the supply chain pillar is particularly significant. Under this pillar, the 14 IPEF member nations—representing 40% of global GDP—have agreed to coordinate efforts to identify and respond to supply chain disruptions, reduce dependencies on a single country, and create an early warning system. India's strengths in pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and electronics manufacturing make it indispensable in this agenda.
The Diplomat
31-07-2025
- Politics
- The Diplomat
The Quad in an ‘America First' World
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, is the centerpiece of U.S. Indo-Pacific diplomacy, but contrary to the desire of American strategic planners, it is far from being the lynchpin of regional security. The Quad brings together three Asian democracies – Australia, India, and Japan – and the resident external power, the United States. It is an ad hoc nonsecurity grouping that has retained attention even though the second Trump administration views multilateralism, multilateral institutions, and security alliances with suspicion. The United States is recalibrating its global involvement based on selective hard power considerations. The Quad, however, is not yet a hard power actor. In his confirmation hearing in January 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delineated the second Trump administration's policymaking priorities based on three questions: 'Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? And does it make America more prosperous?' The Quad has, so far, not made the U.S. safer, stronger, or more prosperous. But the administration continues to see it as important, primarily because of its potential in containing China's rising power and influence. The Quad countries encompass over 2 billion people and together account for one-third of global gross GDP; their combined efforts would go a long way toward countering China. Quad's Origins The Quad was first forged, informally, in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami when Australia, India, Japan, and the United States coordinated to mobilize humanitarian assistance and disaster relief across the region. Three years later, in 2007, the idea of the Quad as a standing group was conceived, with late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo pitching the concept of these four democracies working together to strengthen regional stability based on shared norms and interests. After a fizzling out in 2008, the Quad grouping was resuscitated in 2017 under the first Donald Trump administration, amid growing concerns about China's aggressive economic and military expansion in the region. The subsequent Biden administration then further elevated the Quad, adding annual leader-level summits to the existing foreign ministers' dialogue. Both the frequency of annual meetings and the breadth of agenda items significantly expanded. If the goal was to create an Indo-Pacific minilateral, the Quad can be counted as a success. In under a decade, the four countries have enhanced cooperation beyond humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) into health security, debt management, regional connectivity and infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, and maritime security. If, however, the aim was to create a minilateral that counters China's increasingly assertive posture in the Indo-Pacific, the Quad has a long way to go.
