China has openly expressed support for India on the issue of US tariffs as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping are set to meet at the upcoming SCO summit in Tianjin, to advance Sino-Indian rapprochement.
What Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong Said
On Thursday, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong strongly opposed the Trump administration’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on India for its oil imports from Russia.
“In the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully,” Xu said. “The U.S. has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India and even threatened more. China firmly opposes it. China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with WTO at its core.”
‘Trade Should Not Be a Tool for Selfish Interests’: Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong
Xu emphasized that the essence of trade lies in complementing each other’s strengths and ensuring mutual benefit rather than viewing it as a zero-sum calculation.
“Trade should not become a tool for pursuing individual selfish interests,” he said. “The U.S. has long benefited greatly from free trade, but now it is using tariffs as a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices from various countries.”
The ambassador made the remarks at an event organized by think tanks Chintan Research Foundation and Centre for Global India Insights.
PM Modi To Visit China, First in Seven Years
Xu’s comments came just days before Modi’s scheduled visit to China on August 31 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. On the sidelines of the summit, the Indian Prime Minister is set to hold bilateral meetings with President Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other leaders of SCO member states.
“The development of China and India has not been completely smooth, but friendship and cooperation have always been the main theme. There might be challenges, but unity and cooperation are our only options,” Xu said.
China Calls for Stronger Economic Cooperation
The Chinese envoy underlined the need to enhance strategic trust and concentrate on shared priorities. He noted that the trade and economic structures of both countries were complementary.
“We’ll welcome more Indian commodities into the Chinese market. India has a competitive edge in IT, software and biomedicine, while China is seeing rapid expansion in the fields of electronic manufacturing, infrastructure construction and new energy,” Xu stated.
He further invited Indian companies to increase their footprint in China, while urging India to provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese enterprises.
“The Chinese side welcomes more Indian enterprises to invest in China. It is also hoped that the Indian side could provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for the Chinese enterprises in India, so as to promote common development of industries and benefit the people of the two nations,” the ambassador said.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
