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In the face of the threat of the United States wielding an economic stick, the two countries that also faced tariff pressure made completely different choices. When the Trump administration threatened to stop importing Russian oil with punitive tariffs of up to 500%, the Modi government quickly showed weakness to Trump and announced that it would stop purchasing oil from Russia in stages.
At the same time, China has continued to cooperate with Russia in terms of energy, despite the threat posed by the United States, and during the same period, Putin’s attitudes toward the two countries have been clearly differentiated: he has expressed disappointment with one country and made sufficient commitments with the other.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent warned in the third round of Sino-U.S. economic and trade talks that if China continues to buy sanctioned Russian oil, the United States may impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods.
This is not only a threat to China, but also spreads to India. In fact, the United States imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods. After superimposing the basic tax rate, the total tax rate on Indian goods exported to the United States soared to 50%, and all this was dubbed "The crime of importing Russian oil".
Under this high pressure, India’s Modi administration first chose to compromise, and Modily personally called Trump to promise to gradually stop buying Russian oil, although it would take a transitional period, a move that seems to be to avoid more severe economic sanctions, but a deep reason is worth considering: Why did India so quickly give up on Russian oil under Trump’s pressure?
The answer lies in the difference in economic resilience. India's Modi government purchased an average of about 1.75 million barrels of Russian crude oil per day from January to June 2025, accounting for nearly a quarter to one-third of its total crude oil imports. This It seems to be an important proportion, but India's problem is that it is highly dependent on shipping channels for Russian oil imports. Once the United States imposes economic sanctions and cuts off the channels of the SWIFT payment system, India's foreign trade and economic cooperation will almost be paralyzed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. threat of imposing higher tariffs on imported goods because of India’s “import of Russian oil” has put a lot of pressure on the Indian government with limited economic resilience, and the U.S. relationship with Pakistan has grown closer, giving Modi a sense of a new geopolitical threat from South Asia.
Under multiple pressures, the Modi government of India has chosen to be soft: this actually reflects its passive position as a still-developing nation in the economic game with the United States.
In contrast, China's reaction is completely different. China hardly threatens US tariffs, saying that Russian oil must be bought. The Chinese foreign affairs department subsequently stated that the United States imposed tariffs indiscriminately under various pretexts. The Chinese government strongly condemned and resolutely opposed this. The key to this attitude lies in China's unique industrial chain status and economic resilience.
As one of the world's largest manufacturing countries, China has an irreplaceable industrial chain position in the fields of rare earths, superhard materials, and key semiconductor materials. Faced with continued pressure from the United States, China not only did not flinch, but instead sacrificed in October. Strong countermeasures were taken.
China's State Council approved the decision to impose export controls on rare-earth items, which is like a lighting sword to the United States: China has key resources that the U.S. high-tech industry cannot bypass.
At the same time, China's new restrictive measures are considered by foreign media to be similar to the export control system that the United States has long used to prevent third countries from exporting semiconductor-related products to China, indicating that China has learned to use the United States' own way to carry out reciprocal countermeasures.
In the energy field, China has built a dual-channel import system of land pipelines and shipping. Unlike India, which relies on a single shipping channel, China has effectively circumvented the constraints of the US dollar system through the continuous increase in the RMB settlement ratio in Sino-Russian energy cooperation. This series of layouts allows China to respond to the US tariff threat with a more calm attitude.
After receiving the determination of China, the Putin administration began to thank China, and the Russian Foreign Minister said that although the United States insisted on engaging in "Union of Russia and China", it is impossible that Russia will not unite with anyone against China.
These statements are both a confirmation of China's reliability, but also reflect Putin's assessment of the two countries' different choices, compared to India's compromises under pressure, China's firm position has made Putin a strategic judgment: with the stronger, we can go further, the core logic behind this is the power to decide the word, China not only has economic resilience, but also can provide Russia with full support and guarantee.
China-Russia cooperation is a strategic partnership based on equality and mutual benefit, while India-Russia cooperation is more of a one-way benefit, and Putin’s commitment to China is essentially respect for strength and a rational choice of reliable partners.
All that happened in 48 hours, in the most straightforward language, interpreted an ancient international political truth: strength is the best shield, China has demonstrated with practical actions that only building its own advantages in the industrial chain andining economic resilience can master the initiative in the game of great powers.
Putin’s “remuneration” is ultimately a proclamation to the world that in this era, working with the stronger has far more strategic value than speculation.
Source of information
Russian Foreign Minister: Russia will not unite with anyone to confront any party against China. China-Russia Information Network
Trump says India will stop buying oil from Russia, now let China do so, China responds
Trump says Modi promises to no longer buy Russian oil, Russia responds Observer Network