China to Send Top Envoy to India as Ties Warm After US Tariffs

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1. Submission Statement:

   China will send a top official to New Delhi next week, as Beijing steps up efforts to ease long-standing tensions with India amid US President Donald Trump’s global trade overhaul.

   Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will likely travel to New Delhi on Aug. 18 — his first trip to the country in over three years — and is expected to meet India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, according to people familiar with the matter.

   AGENDA:
   A key agenda item will be discussing ways to reduce troop levels along the disputed Himalayan border, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are still private. Such a step would mark significant progress toward restoring trust between the two countries, they added.

   REBUILDING TIES:
   1)The two nations are considering the resumption of border trade in locally made goods after more than five years, according to New Delhi officials familiar with the matter.

   Both sides have proposed restarting trade through designated points on their border, and the matter is currently under discussion, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are still private.

   2)Beijing has also eased curbs on some fertilizer shipments to India and Modi is expected to head to China later this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. He is expected to meet President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the event held in Tianjin from Aug. 31. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to attend the SCO gathering.

   CONCLUSION:

   The renewed engagement comes at a time when New Delhi’s ties with Trump are fraying, with Washington imposing a 50% tariff on Indian exports — significantly higher than duties on regional peers.

2. The question is what India can export to China which China cannot produce itself? India already has a massive trade deficit with China and any free trade agreement will be more favourable to China due to their industrial capacity. China also has a better education system and more reliable workforce and engineers than India. China has food and energy problems but it is not like India has massive food surplus or petroleum deposits.

   India also cannot buy weapons from China because they have territorial disputes and India will never desire to be reliant on China for crucial military tech.

3. Trump might unironically get the peace prize for real now.

4. This is a thaw in the relationship after the Galwan valley clashes in 2020. Larger issues still exist around border disputes, Chinese support to Pakistan and Chinese support to armed rebels in the northeast but trade numbers are good.

   They are 1/3 of the world population combined so them being non confrontational with each other is a short in the arm for the relationship

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