Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong on Thursday called US President Donald Trump a “bully” and said Washington’s tariff moves were “unpopular” and “unsustainable”.
“Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile,” Feihong wrote on X.
He also posted a snippet from a recent phone call between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and the Brazilian President’s chief advisor.
During the call, Yi reportedly said, “Using tariffs as a weapon to suppress other countries violates the UN Charter, undermines WTO rules and is both unpopular and unsustainable.”
India is the second Brics nation after Brazil to face a 50 per cent tariff from the United States.
On August 5, Trump had hinted at fresh levies on Beijing for its ongoing oil purchases from Moscow. China, another member of the Brics, now attracts a 30 per cent tariff.
Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year as the two nations attempt to finalise a trade agreement.
While successive US administrations have treated India as a key partner in counterbalancing China’s growing regional clout, Washington’s recent move signals growing trade tensions.
According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit China later this month, marking his first visit to the country since 2018.
The trip has not yet been confirmed by officials. Modi last met President Xi Jinping in October 2024 during a meeting in Russia.
The US had earlier entered into a tit-for-tat trade war with China, raising tariffs as high as 145 per cent. China responded by capping its own tariffs at 125 per cent and maintained that further escalation would be meaningless.
