Chinese Media Backs India in Tariff Spat – Says US Treats Delhi as a Tool, Not a Partner
By Staff, Agencies
Amid escalating tariff tensions between India and the United States, Chinese state-run media has thrown its weight behind New Delhi, accusing the US of punishing India for asserting its independence rather than for buying Russian oil.
In a sharp editorial published by the Global Times under the title "India’s strategic balancing hits the wall of US unilateral hegemony", the Chinese outlet argued that India is being penalized not for its trade with Moscow but for refusing to toe Washington’s line.
The piece asserts that the US sees India as a partner only when it aligns with American interests — and turns against it the moment it deviates. “Perhaps, to the US, India may have never been a guest at the table – only an item on the menu,” the article states.
The editorial highlights India's efforts in recent years to maintain a geopolitical balance, joining multilateral groupings like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, while also deepening security ties with the US, Japan and Australia in the Indo-Pacific.
This dual-track diplomacy, the article claims, once gave India strategic flexibility. But as the US reverts to Cold War-style bloc politics, neutrality is now interpreted as disloyalty, leaving countries like India with fewer options.
Following the Trump administration’s decision to raise tariffs on Indian goods by an additional 25% — pushing total tariffs to 50% — the Chinese commentary raises a critical question: what next for India?
According to the article, many in India are beginning to question whether their relationship with the US was ever genuinely reciprocal. The editorial suggests that true sovereignty lies in pursuing an independent foreign policy and supporting a multipolar world based on mutual respect and shared prosperity.
In its final note, the piece urges India to stay the course on strategic autonomy rather than submit to what it calls the coercive tactics of an increasingly hegemonic US.
