Great tariff trap: Trump-Modi tango, China isolated

Don't misread U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff tirades as reckless chaos. This is no global trade war—it's a calculated masterstroke in geopolitical chess, with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the key ally.

- PALAK SHAH

Together, they've baited China's President Xi Jinping into a trap that's unraveling Beijing's economic stranglehold.

The tariff war has sparked a seismic global realignment, dimming China's star while India surges as Asia's new juggernaut. Trump's punishing tariffs and Modi's surgical strikes—like banning Chinese EV titan BYD from India's $1.5 trillion market—reveal a strategy of ruthless precision. With Russia sidelined, Asia's powers pivoting, and China's retaliation imploding, this tariff tango is rewriting the world order... writes Palak Shah

XI'S WHITE FLAG MOMENT On April 1, 2025, as India and China marked 75 years of diplomatic ties, Xi Jinping spun a poetic fantasy of the "dragon and elephant" dancing together. This wasn't diplomacy—it was surrender dressed in silk. Xi wasn't seeking harmony; he was gasping for air. With U.S. tariffs—now a crippling 104 percent on China's $759 billion exports to America—strangling its trade lifeline, and India siphoning off foreign investment, Xi's overture was a plea to Modi: Let me breathe.

But Modi didn't blink. Days after Xi's olive branch, India slammed the door on BYD, China's electric vehicle giant eyeing India's booming market. The ban was not just a snub—it was symbolic of India's intent: We're not your partner; we're your rival. Xi's dream of a dragon-elephant duet crumbled as Modi doubled down, signaling that India's rise was meant at China's expense.

The numbers tell the story: China's global trade share is projected to slide from 15 percent to 12 percent by 2027, while India's Quad-backed ascent—bolstered by the U.S., Japan, and Australia—shows no sign of slowing.