Media Mentions

President Trump has announced a new trade agreement with India, saying the US will cut tariffs from 50 percent to 18 percent in exchange for India stopping its purchases of Russian oil. However, few details about the deal have been released publicly, fuelling uncertainty about what was actually agreed. Mark Linscott, Former Assistant US Trade Representative […]

A vice minister from China’s Ministry of Science and Technology will lead the delegation, said George Chen, partner and co-chair of digital practice at consultancy The Asia Group, citing conversations with his government contacts. He added that the Indian embassy in Beijing had reached out to China to arrange the visas.

“More needs to be done to insulate the relationship and ensure there is enough resiliency to withstand future challenges,” Basant Sanghera, managing principal at The Asia Group. He said both sides still need to finalize a legally binding text, noting that tariff reductions represent only the first phase of the bilateral agreement.

The announcements were greeted, initially at least, with a collective sigh of relief. Stocks in Asia jumped on Tuesday with shares in India rising nearly 3 percent. “This removes an enormous irritant on the U.S.-India side and opens the path for perhaps more cooperation and convergence,” said Nisha Biswal, a partner at the Asia Group

Former US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal tells Bloomberg’s Haslinda Amin why a trade deal between Washington and Delhi is finally within reach. (Source: Bloomberg)

President Donald Trump has said he would roll back punitive tariffs on India in return for an agreement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would stop buying Russian oil. Basant Sanghera of The Asia Group breaks down what we know about the agreement so far. (Source: Bloomberg)

“With a largely negotiated Phase One deal between the U.S. and India sitting and waiting for approval meant that maybe there was pressure the U. S.—and U.S. industry—felt that if they didn’t announce an agreement there would be a realigning of India’s trade toward the EU,” says Nisha Biswal, a senior advisor at the geopolitical

“Beijing wants the yuan to be a serious global currency — not necessarily replace the dollar overnight but to be a strategic counterweight that limits U.S. leverage in a fracturing financial order,” said Han Shen Lin, China Country Director at The Asia Group.

Han Lin, China managing director for the Asia Group, said it was “too difficult” for UK banks to compete domestically for reasons that were “non-political”, including the “cost prohibitive” nature of setting up branches, though he noted that HSBC and Standard Chartered were “much more established” in China due to their association with Hong Kong.

Han Lin, China managing director of The Asia Group, says “from China’s view, the Starmer visit looks like a chance to turn the page on UK-China relations from ideological friction to predictable engagement”. Beijing wants stability more than sentiment — fewer surprises, fewer megaphone politics, and a UK that treats China as an economic partner,