China’s unfair trade practices behind global turmoil, Says Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday greatly criticized China, accusing the nation of utilizing unfair trade practices to drive its economic growth. He stated that Beijing's development rested upon an aggregate of rigged pricing, subsidization under wraps, and labor arrangements that violate international trade laws.

We don't see equitable pricing from China," Goyal said, highlighting the need for immediate reform in global trade. His remarks come as financial markets continue to experience turmoil, which he attributed partly to China's aggressive economic strategy.

The minister's words come amid rising tensions between China and the United States that have rippled across global markets. Goyal underscored China's increasingly dominant position in world trade and cautioned that its behavior was increasingly putting immense pressure on the emerging world. Without corrective action to set things right, he warned, the world might experience more financial instability.

There is no aggression on my part. I put the fact very gently that we do not get fair pricing from China," Goyal explained to news agency ANI, assuring that his statement was not aggressive but true.

Coming to the aspect of historical context, Goyal illustrated that India's trade deficit with China increased exponentially in the past UPA government. "When Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigned office in 2004, the India-China trade deficit was at a certain level," he said. "During the 10 years of the UPA government, that trade deficit increased 25 times."

Goyal also expressed alarm regarding an alleged memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed supposedly by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Communist Party of China. He intimated that this deal could have resulted in reduced tariffs on Chinese imports, opening the floodgates of cheap imports that were pricing out Indian industries.

“We wonder what that MoU was, signed by Rahul Gandhi in China with the Communist Party of China, after which tariffs were brought down very significantly on products which China massively dumped into India,” Goyal said. “This killed many of our local manufacturing sectors and made us dependent on China,” he added.

He also condemned the long-term economic effect of UPA's decisions, alleging that India still reaps the aftermath. "The nation is still reeling under those 10 years of bad management of the economy," he claimed.

Goyal's remarks follow a rollercoaster fall in Chinese financial markets. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 13.2 per cent — its biggest drop since 1997, Reuters reports. The market mayhem has been further fueled by Beijing's retaliatory tariffs on the US, which have raised the specter of an even wider trade war.

In the US, markets were also nervous. President Donald Trump dismissed inflation concerns, saying that tariffs were bringing huge revenues. He criticized past US administrations for letting countries like China exploit American trade policies. "China is the biggest abuser of them all," Trump claimed, saying China's financial markets were "crashing."

Increasing the pressure, Trump on Monday made a strong threat to Beijing through his social media platform, Truth Social. He called for China to cancel its retaliatory tariffs on the US or face fresh tariffs of 50 per cent from April 9. He also warned that he might end negotiations in progress if China goes ahead with proposals to levy a 34 per cent duty on American goods. Trump made it clear that this warning also applied to other nations.