Gordon Chang, a foremost expert on US-China relations, is convinced that President Donald Trump has "walked back" some of his strong recent words about India, signaling a potential relaxation of tensions after months of tense encounters on trade and oil imports.
The US President recently seemed to mellow down. "I get along very well with Modi, as you know," he stated, appearing to try to reassure New Delhi.
Chang views Trump's statement as a withdrawal. This comes weeks after the US imposed a 50% tariff on India, heightening tension between the two countries.
I believe President Trump backtracked a bit on that. And he should, since we didn't lose India to China," Chang said to Fox News. He pointed out Prime Minister Modi's diplomacy play in recent multilateral meetings. "He did not want to be a member of this anti-West group China and Russia, North Korea, and Iran are building," Chang said, pointing out that Modi's selective engagement is indicative of India's cautious approach to international diplomacy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, on August 31-September 1, with high-level meetings with leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. India, however, did not attend the grand military parade in Beijing on September 3 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the defeat of World War II. Unlike the Russia, North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran leaders who stayed for China's defense highlight event, PM Modi came back to India after the summit.
Chang also had something to say about India's complaints about US tariffs. "Modi has a point. I mean, he says, look, you know, we're really unhappy about the 25 per cent tariff that the United States put on India for purchasing Russian oil. He said it was unfair. No, it was not unfair. That tariff was good for President Trump to implement. But Modi has a point when he said it was unfair," Chang said.
After Trump highlighted their close personal relationship in spite of the recent differences, Prime Minister Modi replied that he "appreciates and fully reciprocates" the US President's feelings.
Previously, Trump complained about India continuing to buy oil from Russia. "I have been disappointed, I must tell you, that India would be buying so much oil, as you understand, from Russia. And I made it known. We put a very big tariff on India. 50% tariff, very high tariff," he said.
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