The monitor features developments related to China during the month and is compiled by our research team of Amb. Biren Nanda, Senior Fellow, and Sanket Joshi, Research Associate, from open-source reports and publications.
The Chinese Embassy in New Delhi hosted a reception on April 1, 2025, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which was attended by India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s President Droupadi Murmu also exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 75th anniversary of relations between the two countries. The “Kailash Mansarovar Yatra” is set to resume in June 2025.
On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose “reciprocal tariffs” to rectify trade practices that contribute to US goods trade deficits. Under this policy, the US imposed an additional 34 percent tariff on imports from China, further escalating their trade war. The US has now imposed a 145 percent duty on Chinese imports since January 2025.
Reacting sharply, on April 11, 2025, China imposed a reciprocal 125 percent tariff on imported US goods and cautioned that the US's tariff measures are an act of “unilateral bullying and coercion”, violating WTO rules and undermining the rules based multilateral trading order. Beijing subsequently stressed that if the US wishes to engage in trade talks, it should cease “blackmailing and threatening China” and seek a dialogue based on equality, respect, and mutual benefit.
On April 1, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Wang Yi, the Director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, in Moscow. They reviewed preparations for President Xi's visit to Moscow in May 2025 to attend Russia's 80th Victory Day, marking the end of Nazi Germany in 1945. Wang Yi urged China and Russia to stand up for the post-World War II global order and the UN-centric international system, while jointly promoting “multipolarity and democratisation of international relations”.
President Xi visited Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia from April 14-18, 2025, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in Southeast Asia. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, even as the US imposed reciprocal tariffs on these three Southeast Asian countries, Xi's visit demonstrated China's commitment to good-neighbourliness, multilateralism, and international trade norms.
On April 25, 2025, President Xi chaired a CPC Political Bureau meeting to analyse the country’s current economic situation. Xi noted that China has made progress in advancing high-quality development, but cautioned against external shocks which required China to be prepared for “the worst-case scenarios”.
China’s GDP grew by 5.4 percent year-on-year to CNY 31.8758 trillion (USD 4.42 trillion) in the first quarter of 2025. However, due to a widening US-China trade war, the IMF revised China’s GDP growth forecast for 2025 to 4 percent from 4.6 percent, below Beijing’s annual target of 5 percent. There were signs that China’s economy is coming under stress as the outlook for its exports becomes uncertain.
To read this China Monitor, Vol. VIII, Issue 4, please see the PDF attached.
The Chinese Embassy in New Delhi hosted a reception on April 1, 2025, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which was attended by India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s President Droupadi Murmu also exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 75th anniversary of relations between the two countries. The “Kailash Mansarovar Yatra” is set to resume in June 2025.
On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose “reciprocal tariffs” to rectify trade practices that contribute to US goods trade deficits. Under this policy, the US imposed an additional 34 percent tariff on imports from China, further escalating their trade war. The US has now imposed a 145 percent duty on Chinese imports since January 2025.
Reacting sharply, on April 11, 2025, China imposed a reciprocal 125 percent tariff on imported US goods and cautioned that the US's tariff measures are an act of “unilateral bullying and coercion”, violating WTO rules and undermining the rules based multilateral trading order. Beijing subsequently stressed that if the US wishes to engage in trade talks, it should cease “blackmailing and threatening China” and seek a dialogue based on equality, respect, and mutual benefit.
On April 1, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Wang Yi, the Director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, in Moscow. They reviewed preparations for President Xi's visit to Moscow in May 2025 to attend Russia's 80th Victory Day, marking the end of Nazi Germany in 1945. Wang Yi urged China and Russia to stand up for the post-World War II global order and the UN-centric international system, while jointly promoting “multipolarity and democratisation of international relations”.
President Xi visited Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia from April 14-18, 2025, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in Southeast Asia. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, even as the US imposed reciprocal tariffs on these three Southeast Asian countries, Xi's visit demonstrated China's commitment to good-neighbourliness, multilateralism, and international trade norms.
On April 25, 2025, President Xi chaired a CPC Political Bureau meeting to analyse the country’s current economic situation. Xi noted that China has made progress in advancing high-quality development, but cautioned against external shocks which required China to be prepared for “the worst-case scenarios”.
China’s GDP grew by 5.4 percent year-on-year to CNY 31.8758 trillion (USD 4.42 trillion) in the first quarter of 2025. However, due to a widening US-China trade war, the IMF revised China’s GDP growth forecast for 2025 to 4 percent from 4.6 percent, below Beijing’s annual target of 5 percent. There were signs that China’s economy is coming under stress as the outlook for its exports becomes uncertain.
To read this China Monitor, Vol. VIII, Issue 4, please see the PDF attached.
