US President Donald Trump said on Monday that India has offered to reduce its tariffs on US goods to zero.
While calling the US relationship with India “one-sided,” Trump wrote on social media: “They have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago.”
Trump’s remark came as Modi was in China for a summit of more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-backed initiative given renewed impetus by Trump’s global tariff offensive.
At the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the Global South, in a direct challenge to Washington.
In China, in an image designed to convey solidarity, Putin and Modi were shown holding hands as they walked jovially towards Xi before the summit opened. The three men stood shoulder to shoulder, laughing and surrounded by interpreters.
Beijing has used the summit to mend ties with New Delhi. Modi, visiting China for the first time in seven years, and Xi agreed on Sunday that their countries are development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to improve trade.
