Beijing on Tuesday addressed concerns over potential flooding of cheap Chinese goods into other markets, reassuring India that it would not resort to such practices despite the ongoing trade war with the United States.
Beijing’s ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, wrote in an opinion piece for The Indian Express that China is focusing on expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption.
“China strictly complies with WTO subsidy disciplines and market rules,” Xu wrote. “We will not engage in market dumping or cutthroat competition, nor will we disrupt other countries’ industries and economic development.”
Ever since US president Donald Trump took office in January, the world’s two biggest economies have been at odds, slapping each other with retaliatory tariffs which have now reached more than a whopping 100%.
The trade war has rattled global markets and fears that China may resort to diverting goods to other markets, affecting their competitiveness from other countries.
To tackle this surge in cheap shipments, especially from China, India imposed a 12% temporary tariff on certain steel imports, Reuters reported.
In recent years, Indian mills have been forced to scale down operations and ponder over job cuts due to a hike in Chinese steel imports to India. Since 2020, after a border clash between the two nations, India placed restrictions on China.
However, the two nations are trying to mend their relationship since the past few months.
Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested to President Murmu that the two countries should enhance cooperation, as they marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Xu also said this month that China is willing to increase imports of Indian goods and deepen trade engagement with New Delhi.