Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, has criticised US President Donald Trump over his tariff policies, especially those targeting countries like India and China.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Xu wrote, “Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile,” while quoting a statement from talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Brazilian presidential advisor Celso Amorim. The quote said, “Using tariffs as a weapon to suppress other countries violates the UN Charter, undermines WTO rules and is both unpopular and unsustainable.”
Trump had earlier threatened to impose more tariffs on China, citing its continued purchase of Russian oil. He said, “It may happen… we did it with India and we are doing it probably with a couple of others, one of them could be China.”
According to reports, India, China, and Turkey are currently among the top importers of Russian oil. Trump warned that if the Russia-Ukraine war doesn’t end by Friday, “secondary tariffs” could be introduced on these countries.
India was once expected to be among the first to sign a trade deal with Trump’s administration. However, after five rounds of talks, the deal fell through due to disagreements over India’s farm and dairy sectors and its continued import of Russian oil.
Earlier this year, the US and China were engaged in a tariff war. The US raised tariffs up to 145%, while China responded by capping its tariffs at 125%. China had stated that further increases by the US would be “economically meaningless” and would become a “laughingstock” in the history of global economics.
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year to discuss trade relations.
