India, China Economic Ties to Strengthen, Thanks to Trump’s Tariffs

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in China with the sting of Donald Trump’s US tariffs still top of mind.

India and China are economic powerhouses—the world’s fifth- and second-largest economies, respectively. (Photo: Narendra Modi)

Since Wednesday, tariffs on Indian goods bound for the US—such as diamonds and prawns—have been raised to 50%, which the US president said was punishment for Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil, Suranjana Tewari reported for BBC News.

Experts say the levies threaten lasting damage to India’s vibrant export sector and ambitious growth targets. China’s Xi Jinping, meanwhile, is seeking to revive a sluggish economy at a time when US tariffs threaten to derail his plans.

Against this backdrop, the leaders of the world’s two most populous nations may be looking for a reset in their relationship, which has long been marked by mistrust, largely due to border disputes.

“Put simply, what happens in this relationship matters to the rest of the world,” Chietigj Bajpaee and Yu Jie of Chatham House wrote in a recent editorial. “India was never going to be the bulwark against China that the West (and the US in particular) thought it was… Modi’s China visit marks a potential turning point.”

India and China are economic powerhouses—the world’s fifth- and second-largest economies, respectively.

With India’s growth expected to remain above 6%, its $4-trillion economy and $5-trillion stock market are projected to propel it into third place globally by 2028, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).