China looks up to India, Japan & South Korea to meet Trump’s tariff challenge

China appears to use the chaos created by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to its advantage.

In the wake of uncertainty and topsy turvy economic and trade policies in the run-up to the tariffs’ announcement, the world has been scrambling to cut deals with the Trump administration, prepare retaliatory package, and make partnerships to minmise the impact.

Trump is expected to start the rollout of tariffs shortly after Wednesday midnight (India time). While there is complete uncertainty around the nature and scope of tariffs to be announced, it is almost certain that the announcement would upend world trend. A study by England’s Aston Business Scale found that a trade war could cost the world as much as $1.4 trillion . Economists have also warned that tariffs could also be a self-goal as they could drive the United States into a recession.

Read complete coverage of Trump’s rollout of reciprocal tariffs here

In the midst of such anxieties, China appears to be not just preparing its retaliatory packages but also strengthening partnerships with Asian countries to put up a united front. China has reached out to India, Japan, and South Korea and is using the chaos of tariffs to boost bilateral relationships as well.

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China’s outreach to India

Ahead of Trump’s tariffs’ announcement, China has said that it is willing to buy more Indian goods as trade with the United States is set to be expensive.

Trump has already imposed 20 per cent tariffs on China in two tranches on top of steep targeted tariffs that were imposed by the previous Joe Biden administration. The reciprocal tariff regime is expected to bring fresh tariffs on top of existing ones.

“We are willing to work with the Indian side to strengthen practical cooperation in trade and other areas, and to import more Indian products that are well-suited to the Chinese market,” said Xu Feihong, the Chinese ambassador to India, according to Global Times.

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Chinese leader Xi Jinping also reached out to India on Tuesday. In a message marking the 75th anniversary of the two nations establishing diplomatic relations , he said that peaceful coexistence, mutual trust, mutual benefit, and common development to get along with each other and jointly promote a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations, according to Xinhua news agency.

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The outreach also comes at a time when India and China are trying to mend the bilateral relationship that Chinese aggression at the de facto border of Line of Actual Control (LAC) destabilised. In 2020, China mounted multiple incursions along the LAC and clashed with Indian soldiers, which included fatal skirmishes in eastern Ladakh in which at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed. The clashes plunged the bilateral relationship to its worst since 1962 when the two countries fought a war and triggered a military stand-off that is yet to be completely resolved.

China finding common cause with Japan, South Korea

Besides India, China has also reached out to Japan and South Korea.

The way China has reached out to Asian countries is yet another example of how Trump's policies are helping increasing its global profile and ramping up influence across the world. Almost every step that Trump has taken so far, ranging from the shutdown of foreign aid programmes or withdrawal from Europe and elsewhere, has created a power vacuum that China is stepping in fast to fill.

For the first time in five years, China, South Korea, and Japan held a meeting on economy on Sunday.

Chinese state media reported that the three countries agreed to jointly manage the impact of Trump’s tariffs. However, South Korea and Japan set to downplay such accounts of their meeting. South Korea told Reuters that such an account of the meeting “seems to have been interpreted somewhat broadly.”

However, Chinese state media reported that Japan and South Korea have agreed to import semiconductor raw material from China and China has expressed interest in purchasing finished semiconductors from Japan and South Korea.