China’s ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, declared Beijing will “firmly stand with India” against US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods.
Speaking in New Delhi after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s first India visit in three years, Xu accused Washington of using tariffs as “a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices” and warned that “silence or compromise only emboldens the bully”.
The tariffs — a 25% base duty plus an additional 25% penalty — were announced in response to India’s continued imports of discounted Russian oil. New Delhi has called the move “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.”
Shared stance and strategic messaging
Xu framed India and China as the “double engines of economic growth in Asia” and urged joint defence of the multilateral trading system under the WTO. He said Beijing welcomes more Indian commodities — from IT and software to biomedicine — into its market, while seeking fair treatment for Chinese firms in India.
https://twitter.com/IndiaWarZone/status/1958541806221836648
The envoy’s remarks came ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin (Aug 31–Sep 1), where PM Narendra Modi is expected to meet Xi Jinping for the first time in seven years, reported MSN.
Context: warming ties amid us pressure
India‑China relations, strained since the 2020 Galwan border clash, have seen renewed engagement in 2025. Wang Yi’s visit yielded a 10‑point consensus on boundary talks, reopening border trade, and resuming cultural exchanges like the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra.
The US tariffs have coincided with India deepening energy and trade ties with both China and Russia. On Aug 21, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss expanding oil, defense, and trade cooperation.
Global and domestic reactions
Russia has called the tariffs “unjustified and unilateral,” pledging to maintain crude supplies to India despite US pressure.
Former US NSA John Bolton warned the move could push India closer to a Beijing‑Moscow axis.
Indian officials have highlighted Western “hypocrisy,” noting the EU’s record LNG imports from Russia in 2024.
