Chinese media upset by Piyush Goyal's remarks, says 'opportunistic' India 'cannot seize our market'

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's statements blaming China for the current tariff mess have irked China, which termed India's stance "opportunistic". 

 

Goyal, while talking about tariffs, had hit out at Beijing's two-decade-long "unfair trade practices" since its admission to the World Trade Organisation. "If somebody were to ask me what would be the trigger point of where we are today and why we are going through this churn, the starting point of this actually goes to the beginning of 2000 when China was admitted as a member of the WTO," Goyal said. He had also called US' reciprocal tariffs an "opportunity of a lifetime" for India. 

 

China's state-backed media Global Times on Wednesday lashed out at Goyal for his "rhetoric", stating India was trying to curry favour with the US.  "The Indian minister, by shifting all the blame onto China, is trying to gain exemptions from the US," Long Xingchun, a professor from the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University, told the Global Times. The articles that appear in state-controlled media often are a reflection of China's national stance. 

 

The state media also quoted another analyst who said Goyal's statements showed an "opportunistic mindset". Xie Chao, an assistant professor on Indian studies at Tsinghua University, said India was seeking trade compromises with the US while looking for opportunities to benefit from the competition between China and the US. 

 

"The Indian politician's remarks merely to echo US' rhetoric to discredit China, hoping to gain favour with the Trump administration and pave the way for upcoming India-US trade negotiations," Xie said. 

 

The media also sought to highlight what it called "significant trade deficit problems between the US and India", and said India's bid to gain exemptions from the US was "an unachievable task". It also took a dig at the US stating India's concessions will only push the US to demand even greater compromises towards offsetting the trade deficit. 

 

Xie said India was facing severe setbacks in the process of raising tariffs but was claiming to be fully capable of handling the situation. "Amid the fierce competition between China and the US, India seems to be attempting to take advantage of the situation," Xie said.

 

Long Xingchun sought to dismiss the Indian claim of an "opportunity", stating that India could not seize the market that China left behind. He said India's production capabilities are lacking, and its production costs are high. He added that Indian manufacturing also heavily relies on China's supply chain. 

 

The state media's reaction to Goyal's statement came as the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India Yu Jing had called on India to stand together to overcome these difficulties. He said the US abuse of tariffs deprived countries, especially Global South countries, of their right to development and urged India and China to stand together to overcome these difficulties.

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