China reaches out to India amid trade war with US

Lashing out at the United States for “its misguided comments and actions which harm China’s core interest”, Beijing — in a statement issued by its Embassy in New Delhi — on Wednesday sought to make common cause with India in fighting global trade protectionism, saying this practice would “affect China’s economic development (and) also undermine the external environment of India and hinder India’s booming economy”.

Beijing also said the US was interfering in the internal affairs of both China and India using issues such as human rights and religious matters. Angered by what it termed was “attempts to use the so-called IndoPacific strategy as a tool to counter China”, Beijing blasted the US and said that “the so-called ‘militarisation’ of the South China Sea by China is distortion of facts”, adding that the “US should stop making troubles and creating tensions, and respect the efforts of relevant parties to resolve problems through negotiation and consultation”.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy Spokesperson and Counselor Ji Rong said, “The trade friction between China and US has drawn widespread attention recently . ... Under the current circumstances, China and India need to deepen their cooperation to fight trade protectionism. As the two largest developing countries and major emerging markets, China and India are both in the vital stage of deepening reform and developing economy, and both need stable external environment. Practicing unilateral trade protectionism in the name of ‘national security’ and ‘fair trade’ will not only affect China’s economic development, but also undermine the external environment of India and hinder India’s booming economy.”