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NEW DELHI: China’s top diplomat landed in neighboring India on Monday, seeking to bolster long-fraught relations in the face of intense pressure and tariffs from the United States.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his three-day visit to New Delhi.
Modi, according to Indian media, might also visit China this month.
India’s foreign ministry said in a social media post that “important engagements of the India-China Special Representatives and on bilateral relations” were scheduled over the next two days.
The world’s two most populous nations are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia, and fought a deadly border clash in 2020.
But caught in global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, the countries have moved to mend ties.
Restarting border trade across their icy and high-altitude Himalayan border is expected to feature high on Wang’s agenda.
Its resumption would be significant for its symbolism, and follows agreements to return direct flights and issue tourist visas.
India is also part of the Quad security alliance with the United States, Australia and Japan, which is seen as a counter to China.
Warming ties between China and India come as relations between New Delhi and Washington are strained.
Trump has issued an ultimatum for India to end its purchases of Russian oil — a key revenue source for Moscow’s war in Ukraine — or Washington will double new import tariffs from 25 percent to 50 percent.
Modi said Monday he spoke to “my friend” Vladimir Putin, with the Russian president “sharing insights” on his Alaska summit with Trump last week.
“India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard,” the Indian premier wrote on social media.
Indian hopes that the Alaska meeting would ease US tariff pressure were tempered earlier Monday by US trade adviser Peter Navarro.
“If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one,” he wrote in a sharply-worded column in the Financial Times.
“India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” he wrote.
“The proceeds flow to India’s politically connected energy titans, and in turn, into Vladimir Putin’s war chest,” he added, in an apparent swipe at India’s big refiners, which include tycoon Mukesh Ambani.
Navarro said the 50 percent tariff — due to begin on August 27 — will “hit India where it hurts.”

NEW DELHI: New Delhi and Mumbai were on flood alert on Monday as water levels in the Yamuna River rose dangerously in the capital and heavy rains disrupted the country’s financial hub.

Mumbai received heavy rainfall in the morning, prompting the India Meteorological Department to issue a red alert for the city and its suburbs for the next two days and advise residents to “avoid stepping out unless absolutely necessary.”

Following the alert, the city’s municipal corporation closed all schools and colleges in the city.

Traffic was disrupted not only in the city’s low-lying areas but even in those that are not usually flooded during the monsoon season — the main reason behind the current rainfall.

“This area is located higher than other parts of Mumbai. There has been knee-deep water in my area, too. It has been raining incessantly without any break,” said Madhu Nainan, a resident of Mumbai’s Mahim area.

“I did not go to the office today and decided to work from home. Mumbai in the rainy season becomes really tough to navigate. This time it’s really heavy.”

Anarkali Khatun from Antop Hill, one of the city’s higher neighborhoods, said she had to wade through deep water to reach her workplace.

“It was not easy to navigate the water. If the rain keeps falling, I fear it will not be easy for us to move,” she said.

The office of the chief minister of Maharashtra state said on Monday evening that seven people have died in various flood-related incidents.

“The next 10–12 hours are crucial for Mumbai, and the administration has been instructed to take necessary precautions,” it said in a statement.

The national capital, New Delhi, was also bracing for the night as the water level of the Yamuna River, its main waterway, was expected to cross the danger mark of 205.33 m due to the release from the upstream Wazirabad and Hathnikund barrages in neighboring Haryana, according to a warning by the Central Water Commission.

Under Delhi government protocol, thousands of people are to be evacuated from areas along the river once the level reaches 206 m.