New Delhi:
As tensions between China and the United States ramp up – particularly after the US doubled tarrifs on Chinese imports to 20 per cent – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on New Delhi and Beijing to work together and “take the lead in opposing hegemonism and power politics”.
Speaking Friday afternoon, after a National People’s Congress meet, Mr Wang said “making the dragon and elephant dance (is) a reality that is the only right choice”. He also said, “Supporting each other, instead of wearing each other down, and strengthening cooperation, instead of guarding (against) each other, is in the fundamental interests of both peoples and nations.”
In what has been seen as a big outreach to Delhi, he also said if the two nations – Asia’s two largest economies – combine, “democratisation of international relations and development and strengthening of ‘Global South’ (i.e., less developed Asian, African, and South American nations, a term used often by Prime Minister Narendra Modi) will have a brighter future”.
India has not yet responded to this statement.
In a long response to a question about Beijing’s evolving ties with New Delhi, Mr Wang also pointed to “positive strides” over the past year, seemingly referring to the military disengagement in Ladakh’s Depsang and Demchok after a worrying build-up since June 2020.
Following that, there was a notable thaw in relations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s Xi Jinping meeting in Russia’s Kazan in October last year and Mr Wang meeting National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at a Special Representatives meeting in Beijing in December.
On the border dispute, he stressed, “We should never allow bilateral relations to be defined by the boundary question, or (allow) specific differences to affect overall bilateral ties.”
The statements comes as a tariff war brews between the US and China, a battle that is a redux of events from Donald Trump’s first term as US President.
Mr Trump on Tuesday signed an order to hike – from 10 to 20 per cent – tariffs on Chinese imports into his country. The increase, the White House said, was retaliation for Bejing failing to control export of fentanyl, a deadly manufactured narcotic linked to an opiod crisis in the US.
China’s response was swift and furious; 24 hours later the Chinese embassy in the US said, “If war is what the US wants… be it tariff, trade, or any other type, we’re ready to fight till the end.”
China has also filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, alleging the “unilateral tax… seriously violates WTO rules and undermines the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation”. China also slammed the fentanyl claim, calling it a “flimsy excuse to raise tariffs”.
Tariffs have become a headline-grabbing weapon in the second Trump administration, with the new President wielding it (or the threat of) to bully other nations into getting what he wants; this includes forcing Colombia to accept planeloads of deported illegal immigrants.
Mr Trump has also levied tariffs against India, a country he has repeatedly classified as a “high tariff nation” and a “big abuser”. He has vowed reciprocal tariffs on India and China.
On the India tariffs question, Mr Trump criticised high taxes charged by India (and other nations) in an address to the US Congress, calling them “very unfair” and warning of similar treatment.
Mr Trump and Mr Modi met in Washington, D.C. last month, hours before
Under Mr Trump the US has also imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, citing issues such as illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The response from these countries – the US’ two largest trading partners – has been clear. Canada’s Justin Trudeau has accused Mr Trump of trying to cripple his economy and targeting allies while “appeasing” Russia over the Ukraine war.