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New Delhi: China’s state-run press has placed unusual focus on Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to New Delhi. For Beijing’s news outlets, the trip signalled a shift in India’s strategic posture at a time when U.S. tariffs are beginning to bite.
During his two-day stay, Wang Yi held wide-ranging talks with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the border situation. He also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reports in Chinese media framed the visit as part of India’s recalibration, suggesting that stronger ties with Beijing would benefit the Global South (a grouping of developing nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America).
The Chinese foreign ministry later confirmed that the two sides agreed to restart regular dialogue mechanisms, expand cooperation, resist unilateral pressure from third countries and maintain calm along the boundary. State-run Global Times highlighted this consensus, stating that “stability and peace” in the border areas had been reaffirmed.
Some Indian media outlets claimed China had relaxed controls on rare earth exports to India. Asked about this, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she was “not aware of such a move” but added that Beijing sought uninterrupted supply chains and closer cooperation with partner economies.
The Hindustan Times recently reported that China accounts for nearly 30 per cent of India’s fertiliser imports, besides supplying rare earths for automobile components and tunnel-boring machines for infrastructure projects.
Despite positive optics, official readouts from both capitals diverged on key issues. Beijing’s statement claimed Jaishankar had acknowledged Taiwan as part of China. But India’s foreign ministry clarified that New Delhi’s position on Taiwan remained unchanged and that its economic, cultural and technological ties with Taipei would continue.
On terrorism, India’s official note said New Delhi strongly raised the issue with Wang Yi, recalling the SCO’s founding objective of countering extremism. The Chinese release, however, made no reference to terrorism.
Similarly, India flagged environmental concerns over China’s planned mega dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), stressing the need for transparency. This too was absent in Beijing’s version.
Chinese editorials have framed the visit as a step towards “strategic space” for India. The China Daily wrote that New Delhi had little choice but to reassess its options after Washington doubled tariffs on Indian goods, despite India’s alignment with the United States on several global issues. The paper argued that India’s refusal to halt Russian oil imports further exposed its friction with American policy, pushing it to hedge by engaging China.
The Global Times carried a similar theme, suggesting India’s heavy dependence on the U.S. export market had become a vulnerability under rising tariffs, while Asian partnerships offered a safer alternative.
Nationalist commentary platforms went further. A website, Guancha, quoted Fudan University scholar Lin Minwang as saying that closer ties with China could strengthen India’s bargaining position with Washington.
He also stressed that Beijing would never compromise on matters linked to core national interests.
Wang Yi’s visit, therefore, was more than a routine diplomatic stop. For Beijing, it was a moment to underline the potential of an India-China reset, driven as much by global economics as by shifting geopolitics.
