China’s top diplomat Wang arrives in India amid US tariffs

NEW DELHI (AFP): China’s top diplomat landed in neighbouring India on Monday, seeking to bolster long-fraught relations in the face of intense pressure and tariffs from the United States.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold talks with his counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his three-day visit to New Delhi.

Modi, according to Indian media, might also visit China this month.

India’s foreign ministry said in a social media post that “important engagements of the India-China Special Representatives and on bilateral relations” were scheduled over the next two days.

The world’s two most populous nations are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia, and fought a deadly border clash in 2020.

But caught in global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, the countries have moved to mend ties.

Restarting border trade across their icy and high-altitude Himalayan border is expected to feature high on Wang’s agenda.

Its resumption would be significant for its symbolism, and follows agreements to return direct flights and issue tourist visas.

India is part of the Quad security alliance with the United States, Australia and Japan, which is seen as a counter to China.

Warming ties between China and India come as relations between New Delhi and Washington are strained.

Trump has issued an ultimatum for India to end its purchases of Russian oil – a key revenue source for Moscow’s war in Ukraine – or Washington will double new import tariffs on India from 25 percent to 50 percent.

Indian hopes that a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would ease pressure on New Delhi were dashed on Monday by US trade adviser Peter Navarro.

“If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one,” he wrote in a sharply-worded column in the Financial Times.

“India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” he wrote.

“The proceeds flow to India’s politically connected energy titans, and in turn, into Vladimir Putin’s war chest,” he added, in an apparent swipe at India’s big refiners, which include tycoon Mukesh Ambani.

Navarro said the 50 percent tariff – due to begin on August 27 – will “hit India where it hurts”.