Beijing, Aug 30 (IANS) After the US President Trump imposed more tariffs on India, the business community has viewed the step as an opportunity to mitigate tariff impact ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on August 31.

PM Modi will be in China on the invitation of President Xi to attend the SCO Summit after concluding his two-day visit to Japan.

This will be PM Modi’s first visit to China in the last seven years and the first since the Galwan Valley faceoff in June 2020 between the soldiers of the two countries at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Ahead of PM Modi’s visit to China, some of the prominent businessmen spoke to IANS and shared their views amid the growing tension over India-US tariffs.

Ajeet Khan, a restaurant owner, said that the fact that China and India are neighbours and have been ancient civilisations, and that India has been part of the SCO for quite a while, is significant.

“Most importantly, Prime Minister Modi’s visit to join the summit sends a very strong signal – not just to India and China, but to the entire world – that the two countries are willing to work together for a brighter future,” he said.

Khan said that it gives a good opportunity for both countries to see how they can align with each other and develop a framework to mitigate the impact of (US) tariffs on both economies.

Amit, an executive at an Indian pharma company, said that the SCO summit is a great initiative by the countries, bringing closer, Asian nations like Russia, India, and China closer together.

“With so many trade tensions happening globally, this is a significant step. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit here will actually benefit both countries in terms of trade and strengthening bilateral relations,” he said.

Businessman Jayanta Nandy said that symbolically, this visit signifies that there will be much cooperation and collaboration.

“We definitely foresee significant improvements in India-China relations, particularly in areas like digital technology, green energy, and the overall friendship between the two nations,” he said.

Weilin, a Chinese businessman, said that India and China are two economic giants in Asia, as well as in the Global South.

“As a businessperson in China, pretty much everyone I talk to expects to deepen cooperation with India. I definitely think that the presence of Prime Minister Modi in China is a brilliant start to reboost our bilateral relations, as well as economic and political cooperation between ICCO countries, especially amid this significant geopolitical shift in the world,” he said.

Hean, a former diplomat, said that as a local Chinese citizen, they are expecting Prime Minister Modi’s visit, adding that it has been almost seven years since his last visit to China.

“The majority of Chinese people hope that this visit will improve Sino-India relations, especially given the current complex international scenario. Strengthened relations between our two major countries will bring brighter hope for Asia and the entire world,” he said.

Another member of the Indian diaspora said that PM Modi’s visit will boost trade, and more importantly, relations between the people of India and China will improve.

Ankit Prasad, Editor at CGTN, China’s national news network, said that the positive aspect, as indicated by the Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit to India this month, is that mechanisms have been developed to resolve border tensions.

“The fact that the Prime Minister is now visiting China suggests that progress is being made at the border, as it was clear that India was not going to back down,” he said.

–IANS

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