Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong slammed US President Trump after new tariffs on Indian goods, calling him a “bully”.
Chinese ambassador to New Delhi Xu Feihong on Thursday heavily criticized US President Donald Trump, a day after the latter imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods over India’s continued oil trade with Russia, taking the total duty to 50 per cent and making it one of the highest import-duty imposed country. In the meantime, Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of any trade negotiations with India unless the issue of tariffs is resolved, as per his latest media address.
Taking a sharp swipe at Donald Trump, Xu Feihong called him a “bully” and posted on social media X. “Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile,” the envoy wrote without mentioning any name. He also shared a snippet from a recent phone call between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and the Brazilian president’s chief advisor, who also had expressed his displeasure with the heavy import duty levied on Brazil, along with India.
In the conversation, Yi reportedly said that using tariffs to suppress other nations violates the UN charter and weakens the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Successive US administrations have seen India as a key partner, a country that has like-minded interests with regard to China.
India and China are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia. According to reports, Modi might visit long-time rival China in late August. The trip has not been confirmed by officials, but it would be his first visit to China since 2018. Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping last met in Russia in October 2024.
The cumulative tariffs — higher than not just those for India’s export rivals such as Vietnam, but also China — could cut outbound shipments to the US by 60% and shave about a percentage point from GDP, estimates Bloomberg Economics. The Reserve Bank of India sees the Indian economy expanding by 6.5% in fiscal 2026 — same as last year and way below the average 8% growth seen before that.
Analysts see the new levies effective in 21 days, hitting exports from labor-intensive sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles and footwear, potentially halting business in these goods. The move is also expected to force India to actively scout for alternative markets.
In a retaliatory response, the New Delhi government called the move of elevating the trade tariff to 50% completely “unfair, unjustified,” blasting Trump for singling out India when other countries are also buying oil from Moscow.
Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu also reportedly said he would like to come to India soon. A common ally to competing and allegedly at loggerhead countries, India and US – Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday stated it will be in the interest of both India and the United States (US) to resolve the tariff issue, reports said. He further added that there is huge scope to expand India-Israel cooperation including in areas of intelligence sharing, countering terrorism.
Helene Elliott is the senior reporter for News Raise. She covers Science news. She also has a keen interest in photojournalism. Helene holds a nomination for the prestigious Red Smith Award. She is married to author Dennis D’Agostino, a former publicist with the New York Mets.
