Beijing's state paper says Washington sells India partnership and demands concessions

In an unsigned commentary published on 18 October, Global Times, part of the People's Daily group that serves as the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, reads the US–India trade impasse as a case study in how Washington treats its partners. By the paper's account, the trade framework reached in February remains unsigned 9 months on. India's finance minister has said the talks are stuck, and the US Trade Representative that no announcement is imminent. The piece appeared just before Rubio's 2nd visit to India this year, and argues that Washington wants to talk strategic partnership while New Delhi wants to talk tariffs.

The paper builds the gap between rhetoric and trade on 3 items: high tariffs on Indian steel, continued pressure on the pharmaceutical sector and barriers to IT services. Over the same period, it says, 3 allies, Japan, South Korea and Australia, secured better terms, while India is treated as a bargaining chip whose value can be changed at will. According to the commentary, Washington's 3-point list of demands comprises curbing purchases of Russian oil, opening agriculture and buying more US energy; the piece adds a push for India to take Venezuelan oil. If the US tariff returns to 25%, the paper argues, India's strong export growth in 2026 would suffer.

The commentary concludes with strategic autonomy. The 18 October text says India is deliberately delaying economic concessions while preserving its security ties, and that the US tariff policy getting tangled in the courts keeps New Delhi away from commitments that could be reversed the following year. In the paper's view, the strategic partner label is losing value for India, and New Delhi will chart a more independent course by deepening ties with Russia and Iran. The final sentence of the 18 October piece asserts that whether or not a deal is signed, India has seen Washington's real agenda.