Tianjin: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping this morning, the shadow of U.S. tariffs loomed large over the talks. Washington’s decision to hit India with a 50% tariff ostensibly for trade imbalances and Russian oil imports has rattled the global economy. But experts argue the real motive runs deeper.
“President Trump wanted to force India into submission,” said Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow at the Beijing-based Taihe Institute, during a panel discussion on NDTV. “This is not about fair trade. It’s about belittling a country like India, which is far too important for global markets and labour. That makes no sense.”
The timing of Modi’s visit, Tangen noted, was highly symbolic. The India-China meeting, he said, was more than just bilateral diplomacy it was a calculated “moment of optics” that sends a sharp message to Washington. “It shows the world that India will not be cornered by America’s arbitrary moves,” he remarked.
Reports have suggested that Trump’s ire was less about oil imports and more about India’s refusal to label him a “peacemaker” during its conflict with Pakistan. Whatever the cause, the tariffs have been widely seen as punitive. Tangen did not mince words: “We’re at a time when a bully is striding the world stage, literally trying to take everyone’s lunch money. India has an opportunity to stand up and be the balancing power something it has been in both SCO and BRICS.”
He also highlighted Washington’s deeper anxieties. “The U.S. fears India’s leadership in the non-aligned movement. If New Delhi tells Washington ‘no’ on its colonial-style games, that’s the end of it. Tariffs or not, America cannot divide India, China, Russia, and others into camps against one another.”
Turning to Modi’s diplomacy, Tangen credited the Indian Prime Minister with unsettling Washington. “This is what keeps them up at night Modi stepping into a mantle of leadership. India now has a chance to be counted, to show that it will not be bullied into submission.”
The expert also pointed to the thaw in India-China ties, once frozen after the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes. With troop reductions and disengagement in the region, both sides have reopened space for cooperation. Modi himself underscored this, telling Xi that peace and stability at the border have laid the ground for a stronger partnership.
On the economic front, Tangen suggested the groundwork for collaboration was visible. “Rare earths, tunnel-boring machines, fertilizers these are promising avenues. But trust must be built step by step.”
For now, as Modi and Xi shook hands in Tianjin, the optics were clear: India is charting its own path in an increasingly fractured world order, refusing to bow to U.S. tariffs and signaling that it will not be reduced to a pawn in global power games.