► Wen Observer.com Wang Yi

On August 23, local time, Indian Foreign Minister Sujarsen once again responded with tough words to the United States 'imposition of tariffs on Indian goods at a forum organized by India's Economic Times, saying that trade negotiations between India and the United States are still continuing, but there are clear "red lines" in the negotiations, and India will always make decisions based on national interests.

¡°Negotiations are still ongoing, but most importantly, we have some red lines,¡± Sujetin stressed, adding that the interests of farmers and small producers are the bottom line of the Indo-American negotiations, ¡°we are committed to defending the interests of our farmers and small producers, and we are very firm about it, which is not something we can compromise.¡±

The Economic Times said that Jaishankar's remarks demonstrate India's determination to safeguard its domestic interests while engaging with global partners.

Reuters pointed out that earlier this year, India-US trade talks broke down because India did not agree to open up its huge agricultural and dairy markets. Tensions between the two countries intensified after the United States announced additional tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods citing Russian oil purchases.

25 percent of the 50 percent tariffs imposed by the United States on India have already come into effect, with the rest expected to be implemented on August 27. Capital Economics analysts warned on August 22 that if tariffs are fully implemented, India¡¯s economic growth rate will drop by 0.8 percentage points this year and next, respectively, ¡°the long-term harm may be greater because high tariffs could weaken India¡¯s attractiveness as a global new manufacturing center.¡±

However, the plan of the U.S. trade negotiation delegation to visit India from 25th to 29th has also been cancelled, and the prospect of negotiations has suddenly dimmed. The hope of the U.S. lowering or postponing the imposition of tariffs on India has become increasingly slim.

To the U.S. criticism of India's purchase of Russian oil and the re-sale of finished goods for profit, Sujetin said on his visit to Russia on 20-21 that the U.S. imposed an additional 25% tariff on India was "very confusing" because it was initially "the Americans who let India do everything to stabilize the global energy market, such as buying Russian oil."

Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar, video screenshot

On the 23rd, Jaishankar once again criticized the tariff as "unfair and unreasonable", saying that it was wrongly "packaged as an oil issue" because the same argument was not used in Europe, the largest importer of Russia's liquefied natural gas.

He pointed out that the West's position on this issue is "inconsistent". In terms of trade scale, the trade scale between Russia and Europe far exceeds that between India and Russia. "Some people say that we are providing funds for the Russia-Ukraine conflict... The trade scale between Russia and Europe is larger, isn't it Europe? Invest more?"

Jaishankar also sarcastically said: "It's interesting that a U.S. government that claims to be pro-business accuses others of doing business. If you think there is something wrong with buying our oil or refined oil, then don't buy it. No one forces you to buy it. But Europe buys it, and the United States buys it. So if you don't like it, don't buy it from us."

Speaking about India-Pakistan relations, Sujetin reiterated India¡¯s position, ¡°Since the 1970s, there has been a consensus within India for more than 50 years: we do not accept any mediation in India-Pakistan relations.¡±

Su Jiesheng emphasized,"Whether it is trade, farmers 'interests, or our strategic autonomy and opposition mediation, the Indian government's attitude is very clear. If anyone disagrees, please tell the Indian people: You are not prepared to defend the interests of farmers, and you do not value strategic autonomy. But we will maintain it and take every measure to ensure it."

Following the outbreak of the conflict in India and Pakistan in May this year, Trump announced that under U.S. mediation, India and Pakistan had agreed to a ¡°comprehensive immediate ceasefire.¡± While Pakistan thanked Trump for helping to end the conflict, India only acknowledged that the U.S. played a role in mediation, insisting that India itself ended the conflict by negotiating directly with Pakistan.

"We have never seen a U.S. president conduct foreign affairs in such an open manner." Su Jiesheng said that whether he is dealing with foreign affairs or domestic affairs, Trump's way of doing things is different from the traditional model.

For the Indian-American bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation under Trump's rule, Sujetin stressed that India will not be forced to make a second choice between different groups, but to adapt to the nature of the environment and challenges, "if a relationship requires a different treatment, it should be adjusted accordingly", "Quarter-Party Security Dialogue" (QUAD) is "Quarter-Party Security Dialogue", BRICS countries are BRICS countries, "nations like us, should not be forced to make a dual choice."

Sujetin visited Russia on 20-21 and met with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on topics such as bilateral trade, economic cooperation and international affairs.

In the past few decades, the Indian economy has been most affected by two factors: the first is the season, if the season rains are not normal, agriculture is inadequate, domestic inflation is inevitable in India; the second is energy oil, international oil prices rise, domestic prices rise, the economy will be severely affected.

Liu Shui pointed out that the last few years the Indians have boasted of the good economy of their country, but in fact, India's higher economic growth rate in 2021 and 2022 is because of the epidemic rebound, coupled with cheap oil trade with Russia, and the Modi government's deficit finance way of large investments in infrastructure construction, has made the economic data of the years more bright.

Therefore, in this situation, Liu Zongyi believes that it is difficult for the Modi government to make concessions to the United States on both agricultural and energy issues, and it is unwilling to fully compromise.

Further reading

Five years ago, after the outbreak of border conflict between China and India, the relationship between the two countries fell into a low valley; in recent years, the relationship between China and India showed signs of warming up.On August 18, local time, the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in New Delhi with India's Foreign Minister Suzhou Jizerou.

Recently, signs of warming relations between China and India appeared, depicting the Chinese and Indian flags (data map)

India's New Delhi Television (NDTV) reported on August 19 local time that the visit was a "milestone" for China and India, the two major Asian countries, to adjust their relations to deal with the global chaos caused by Trump's tariff war. The title of the report emphasized this--During the Trump tariff war, China pointed out to India: "Unilateral bullying is rampant."

In a statement issued after the meeting of the two foreign ministers, the Chinese side said that Wang Yi told Suzhou that "the world today, with centuries of change accelerating, unilateral bullying is going well, free trade and international order are facing serious challenges", which clearly refers to pressure from the United States.

Wang Yi said that as the two largest developing countries with a total population of more than 2.8 billion, China and India should show their feelings for the world, reflect their responsibility as major countries, set an example for the majority of developing countries to unite and self-reliance, and contribute to promoting world multipolarity and democracy in international relations. Make contributions.

NDTV quoted sources as saying that China has pledged to address India¡¯s three key concerns ¨C fertilizer, rare earth and tunnel drillers ¨C among which, rare earth elements are critical to the manufacture of high-tech products such as smartphones and advanced military equipment, mainly concentrating refining production in China, which makes them strategic for global technology.

The Hindustan Times also reported that through this visit, China and India have achieved positive bilateral results. As relations between the two countries normalize, China will resume supplying India's urgently needed fertilizers, rare earth minerals and tunnel boring machines. In addition, Jaishankar emphasized that India's position on the Taiwan issue has not changed.

Wang Yi talks with India's Foreign Minister Su Jessen

Indian media have repeatedly linked the background of the thaw in Sino-Indian relations to the tariff offensive launched by the United States against India's continued purchase of Russian oil.

The Hindustan Times stated that although the atmosphere of the talks between the foreign ministers of China and India was harmonious, US President Trump became the focus of the talks. Both sides agreed that given the current policy direction of the United States, the two sides need to cooperate more closely. The general consensus is that U.S. policies and decisions will target China and India at the same time, and the two sides need dialogue to overcome uncertainty.

During his visit to China last month, Sujetson consulted with Wang Yi on the supply of urine, nitrogen phosphorus composite fertilizer, phosphate dioxide, rare-earth minerals and tunnel drillers, but he did not mention border negotiations and border issues at the time.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has previously announced that from 18 to 20 August, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, foreign ministers and the Chinese Special Representative on China-India Border will be invited to visit India and hold the 24th meeting of the Special Representative on China-India Border.

According to the Indian Express, on August 19 local time, Wang Yi will hold the 24th meeting of the Special Representatives of China-India Border Issues with Indian National Security Adviser Doval and meet with Indian Prime Minister Modi.

Bloomberg on August 17 that China and India, the two Asian neighbors, had been in conflict in 2020 due to border issues, since then the relationship has been tense, and the two countries have been trying to stabilize bilateral relations. Recently, India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens, China has eased urine export restrictions to India. In addition, due to the new coronavirus and other reasons, China's five-year direct flights are expected to resume the dawn, the Indian media said that China and India will soon resume direct flights in September, and the Indian government has asked its airlines to be ready to resume China's routes at any time.

At present, there is still room for further advancement in the preliminary freezing of China-India relations.On August 6, local time, just as Trump announced that he would raise tariffs on India to 50%, several Indian media outlets have cited informed disclosures that Modi plans to visit Tianjin in China from August 31 to September 1 to participate in the SCO Summit in Tianjin, which will also be his first visit to China since 2018.

Modi's participation in the Tianjin Summit also created the possibility for the meeting of leaders of the two countries, and the topics that may be discussed in the potential meeting involve further normalization of relations, including easing tensions in border areas, the resumption of direct flights, the reopening of border trade points and strengthening personnel exchanges.

In this regard, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to attend the SCO Tianjin Summit in China. It is believed that with the joint efforts of all parties, the Tianjin Summit will surely become a grand event of unity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will surely enter a new stage of high-quality development that is more united, more collaborative, more dynamic and more productive.

Following the failure of five rounds of U.S.-India trade talks and India's refusal to cut last year's record $52 billion in Russian oil imports, Trump offered a 50% high tariff and triggered an escalation in the tariff war.U.S.-India officials believe that factors such as political misjudgment, missing signals and mutual complaint have led to the breakdown of trade agreements between the world's largest and fifth-largest economies.

Analysts said Mr. Trump's move marked the "worst downturn" in US-India relations since he returned to the White House in January and that the tariffs could disrupt India's access to its biggest export market and hit sectors such as textiles, footwear, gems and jewellery, which will total nearly $87 billion in 2024.

NDTV noted that despite India being punished for buying Russian oil, the United States has not yet imposed any so-called ¡°secondary sanctions¡± on China.

In response, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio told Fox News on August 17 local time that assuming we wanted to trace the oil Russia sold to China, we would find that most of the Russian crude oil purchased by China had been refined and then sold back to the global market. If the United States imposes further sanctions on China,"it may push up global energy prices or find alternative sources in the face of a lack of supply."

On August 17, local time, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio received an interview with U.S. Fox News Network.

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi said during his meeting with Jaishankar Jaishankar that the leaders of China and India successfully met in Kazan, leading the resumption of China-India relations. The two sides earnestly implemented the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, gradually resumed exchanges and dialogues at all levels, maintained peace and tranquility in border areas, and Indian pilgrims resumed pilgrimages to the sacred lake of Xizang in China. China-India relations are showing a positive trend of returning to the main channel of cooperation. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India. The two sides should earnestly learn from the experience and lessons of the past 75 years, establish a correct strategic understanding, regard each other as partners and opportunities, rather than opponents or threats, invest their precious resources in development and revitalization, and explore the correct way of getting along with neighboring major powers through mutual respect and trust,

Wang Yi stressed that China is willing to adhere to the philosophy of sincerity and favor, shared destiny, and work with neighboring countries, including India, to jointly build peace, tranquility, prosperity, beauty and friendship in the "five great gardens". China and India and China should firmly confide, go towards each other, eliminate interference, expand cooperation, consolidate the momentum of improving relations between China and India, so that the revitalization process of the two major Eastern civilizations mutually promote and accomplish each other, and provide the most needed certainty and stability for Asia and the world.

Sujasin said that under the joint guidance of the two leaders, India-China relations have come out of the low valley, continuously improving development, and the exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in various fields have been normalized.Thanks to China for facilitating the Indian pilgrimage to Tibet, Shikoku Shikoku pilgrimage in China.India is very important to improve the strategic awareness of each other.As the two largest developing countries, India-China adheres to multilateralism, strives to promote fair and balanced world multilateralism, should also jointly safeguard the stability of the world economy.Indiains relationship stability, cooperation and forward-looking, in line with the interests of the two countries.It is part of Taiwan China.India is willing