Modi Hails China Ties As Bessent Swipes At India For Russian Oil Purchases

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed improved ties with China as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent escalated criticism of the South Asian nation over its purchases of Russian oil.

Modi said he's looking forward to visiting China later this month — his first trip to the country in seven years — and meeting President Xi Jinping. The Indian leader met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday in New Delhi. Wang was visiting India for the first time in three years.

“India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other's interests,” Modi said in a post on X on Tuesday. “Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity.”

India has been recalibrating its foreign policy more toward China and other members of the BRICS group after US President Donald Trump threatened to boost tariffs unless New Delhi stops importing Russian oil. Trump administration officials have singled out India for the oil purchases, accusing it of aiding Russia's war in Ukraine and undermining US efforts to end the conflict.

Bessent on Tuesday intensified the criticism, saying India was “profiteering” off the oil purchases.

“We have planned to up the tariffs on India — these are secondary tariffs for buying the sanctioned Russian oil,” Bessent told CNBC. “They are reselling, they made $16 billion on excess profits — some of the richest families in India,” he added.

Ambani Swipe

Bessent also defended the administration's lack of secondary tariffs on China, which buys more crude oil from Russia, saying India only ramped up its purchases after Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. China was importing 13% of its oil from Russia before the 2022 invasion, and now it's 16%, “so China has a diversified input of their oil,” Bessent said.

The comments amount to an indirect swipe against Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest billionaire. Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd., which runs the world's largest petroleum refining complex in western India, has been among the buyers of Russian crude, purchasing cargoes under long-term contracts.

India's government has repeatedly defended its right to buy oil from the cheapest source, and has called the US's threat of higher tariffs “unreasonable.” On Monday, Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a “friend.”

In meetings in New Delhi this week, India and China agreed to facilitate bilateral trade and investment flows, resume direct flights and process more visas to boost exchanges between people in the world's most populous nations, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.

China has also assured India of supplies of rare earth minerals, fertilizer and tunnel-boring machines, an official in New Delhi told reporters, asking not to be identified because discussions are private.

India said separately that both sides had a “candid” exchange on border issues that led to the deterioration in ties following a deadly 2020 clash. They agreed to “jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas through friendly consultations,” according to a statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs.

“I am very happy that in the last nine months, there has been an upward trend” in bilateral ties, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who met with Wang, said Tuesday. “Borders have been quiet, and there has been peace and tranquility.”

Efforts to improve India-China ties have gained new urgency following Trump's tariff policy. Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on Indian exports to the US and threatened to double that to 50% by Aug. 27 to penalize New Delhi for buying oil from Russia.

Beijing has loosened curbs on urea exports, India has reinstated tourist visas for Chinese nationals, and a growing number of Indian businesses have been seeking partnerships with Chinese companies for deals including technology transfers, Bloomberg News has reported.

Despite the thaw, however, thorny issues remain, including China's close relationship with Pakistan, India's neighbor and rival. China announced that Wang will be heading to Pakistan on Wednesday.

“Our policy is to develop friendly and cooperative relations with both India and Pakistan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. China hopes the two nations can find a “proper solution” and is “willing to play a positive role,” she added.

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