{"id":2337,"date":"2025-08-20T16:35:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/did-trumps-tariff-war-force-india-and-china-to-mend-ties\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T16:35:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:35:21","slug":"did-trumps-tariff-war-force-india-and-china-to-mend-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/did-trumps-tariff-war-force-india-and-china-to-mend-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Trump\u2019s tariff war force India and China to mend ties?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

India and China have agreed to step up trade flows and resume direct flights in a major diplomatic breakthrough, as the two most populous nations try to rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 deadly border clash and amid US President Donald Trump\u2019s unpredictable foreign policy.<\/p>\n

The two rivals also agreed to advance talks on their disputed border during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi\u2019s two-day visit to India.<\/p>\n

The rebuilding of India-China ties coincides with friction between New Delhi and Washington, following the recent imposition of steep tariffs on India<\/a> by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

So why did India and China decide to mend their ties, and what steps were taken to address their border dispute?<\/p>\n

What specific points were agreed?<\/h2>\n

Discussions covered a range of issues related to withdrawing tens of thousands of troops that both countries have amassed along their Himalayan border, boosting investment and trade flows, hosting more bilateral events, and enhancing travel access.<\/p>\n

The Asian neighbours agreed to reopen several trading routes \u2013 namely the Lipulekh Pass, Shipki La Pass and Nathu La Pass. An expert group will also be established to explore \u201cearly harvest\u201d steps (i.e. mini-agreements that can be implemented quickly before the conclusion of a more complex deal) to improve border management, a move India had previously opposed.<\/p>\n

In the past, India was keen to avoid a situation where China secured partial gains up front, but where its territorial integrity concerns remained unresolved. India\u2019s opposition has accused the government of ceding territory to China.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, China has reportedly agreed to address India\u2019s concerns over its export curbs on fertilisers, rare earth minerals and tunnel-boring machines, according to Indian media reports.<\/p>\n

But Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning, when asked about Indian media reports on the lifting of export controls, said she was not familiar with the media reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a matter of principle, China is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries and regions to jointly maintain the stability of the global production and supply chain,\u201d she said in a media briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

New Delhi and Beijing also agreed to resume direct flights between the two countries, enhance river-sharing data and drop certain visa restrictions for tourists, businesses and journalists.<\/p>\n

\"Modi
US President Donald Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. [Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who said what?<\/h2>\n

During his two-day trip, Wang Yi held meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India\u2019s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, encounters that will pave the way for Modi\u2019s first visit to China in seven years at the end of August.<\/p>\n

\u201cStable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity,\u201d Modi posted on X after his meeting with Wang.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Doval said that China and India had achieved a \u201cnew environment\u201d of \u201cpeace and tranquillity\u201d. He added that \u201cthe setbacks that we faced in the last few years were not in our interest\u201d, and \u201cdelimitation and boundary affairs\u201d had been discussed.<\/p>\n

A readout from China\u2019s Foreign Ministry said Wang told Doval that \u201cthe stable and healthy development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries\u2019 people\u201d.<\/p>\n

The two sides \u201cshould enhance mutual trust through dialogues and expand cooperation\u201d, Wang said, and should aim for consensus in areas such as border control and demarcation negotiations.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Modi is scheduled to travel to China at the end of this month to take part in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation \u2013 his first visit to the country since June 2018.<\/p>\n

Why did relations sour in the first place?<\/h2>\n

Relations between the two countries plummeted in 2020 after security forces clashed<\/a> along their Himalayan border. Four Chinese soldiers and 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the worst violence in decades, freezing high-level diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n

The chill in relations after the deadly Ladakh clash \u2013 the first fatal confrontation between India and China since 1975 \u2013 also affected trade and air travel, as both sides deployed tens of thousands of security forces in border areas.<\/p>\n

Following the border tensions, India imposed curbs on Chinese investments in the country. Months later, New Delhi banned dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok, owned by China\u2019s ByteDance, citing security concerns.<\/p>\n

But despite the soaring tensions, the bilateral trade between the two countries did not see a drastic drop, and in fact, New Delhi\u2019s imports from Beijing have grown to more than $100bn from $65nb in the financial year 2020-2021 as the country\u2019s electronics and pharma industries heavily rely on raw materials from China.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Wang said, \u201cThe setbacks we experienced in the past few years were not in the interest of the people of our two countries. We are heartened to see the stability that is now restored on the borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Modi emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border and reiterated India\u2019s commitment to a \u201cfair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question\u201d, his office said in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese
Ties between India and China have improved since Indian Prime Minister Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia in October 2024. [File: China Daily via Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why did the two sides decide to mend ties?<\/h2>\n

The geopolitical disruption caused by Donald Trump\u2019s trade wars has helped create an opening for Asia\u2019s leading and third-largest economies to try to mend their diplomatic and economic relations.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the improvement in ties has accelerated since Trump increased tariffs on both countries earlier this year \u2013 particularly India, which had been pursuing a closer relationship with the United States in a joint front against China.<\/p>\n

Moreover, India and the US have been haggling over free trade agreements for months, with Trump accusing India of denying access to American goods due to higher tariffs. China has also been locked in months-long trade negotiations with the US.<\/p>\n

China and India increased official visits and discussed relaxing some trade restrictions and easing the movement of citizens since Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia last October. In June, Beijing even allowed pilgrims from India to visit holy sites in Tibet while India issued tourist visas to Chinese nationals in a sign of improving ties.<\/p>\n

But Trump\u2019s decision to declare a 25 percent<\/a> \u201creciprocal\u201d tariff on India in June over the country\u2019s imports of Russian oil \u2013 and his move a week later to raise it again to 50 percent<\/a> \u2013 have hastened dramatic diplomatic realignment. The higher US tariff threatens to disrupt the US-India bilateral trade worth $200bn, risking jobs of thousands of people in the world\u2019s most populous nation.<\/p>\n

Top Trump officials have accused India of funding Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday accusing India of \u201cprofiteering\u201d.<\/p>\n

But China\u2019s imports of Russian oil are even larger than India\u2019s<\/a>. And on August 12, the US extended a tariff truce on Beijing for another 90 days \u2013 staving off triple-digit tariffs. In turn, New Delhi has accused Washington of double standards<\/a> over its tariff policy.<\/p>\n

Suhasini Haidar, an Indian journalist writing in the newspaper The Hindu, said that the rationale behind the US sanctions on India is \u201cdubious\u201d. \u201cThe US has itself increased its trade with Russia since Trump came to power,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

US Treasury Secretary Bessent, however, has defended Washington\u2019s decision not to impose secondary sanctions against China, saying Beijing \u201chas a diversified input of their oil\u201d. Beijing\u2019s import of Russian oil, he said, went from 13 percent to 16 percent while India\u2019s went from less than one percent to over 40 percent.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s claim that he secured a ceasefire between India and Pakistan has further caused anger in India, which has refused to give credit to the US president for the May 10 ceasefire that stopped the five-day war between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Trump\u2019s hosting of the Pakistan Army\u2019s General Asim Munir has not helped the cause, either.<\/p>\n

US-India relations have frayed despite Modi cultivating personal ties with Trump, particularly during his first term. The Indian prime minister was Trump\u2019s first guest in his second term in February, when he coined the slogan \u201cMake India Great Again\u201d (MIGA), borrowing from Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d (MAGA) base. \u201cMAGA plus MIGA becomes a mega partnership for prosperity,\u201d Modi said.<\/p>\n

\"Trump\"
The US has slapped 50 percent tariff on India over New Delhi\u2019s purchase of Russian oil. But many are asking why China \u2013 the biggest buyer of Moscow\u2019s crude \u2013 spared [File: AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Trump\u2019s repeated attacks on India have poured cold water on \u201cthe partnership\u201d, with Indian foreign policy experts fearing the ties are headed towards uncharted territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt risk is three decades of India\u2019s economic ascent, and its careful positioning as an emerging power, shaped in the shadow of US strategic backing,\u201d wrote Sushant Singh, a lecturer in South Asian studies at Yale University, in the Financial Times. \u201cTrump has shredded India\u2019s road map; it could be replaced by strategic drift, realignment or eventual rapprochement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The turbulence in India-US ties has forced New Delhi to repair ties with its adversary China, which supplies military equipment to Pakistan and took the side of Islamabad during the recent war.<\/p>\n

The new developments may also boost relations between members of the BRICS<\/a> bloc \u2013 with India and China being the group\u2019s founding members, along with Brazil, Russia and South Africa. India and China will host the 2026 and 2027 BRICS summits, respectively. Trump has also railed against BRICS nations, warning the member nations against challenging the US dollar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

India and China have agreed to step up trade flows and resume direct flights in a major diplomatic breakthrough, as the two most populous nations try to rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 deadly border clash and amid US President Donald Trump\u2019s unpredictable foreign policy. The two rivals also agreed to advance talks on their … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}