US-China trade war opportunity for Indian commerce: Jaitley
New Delhi, Sep 28 : The ongoing US-China trade war may have created current instability in the global economy, but will gradually open up opportunities for India to expand as a bigger trading and manufacturing base, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday.
Addressing the annual session here of the PHD Chamber of Commerce via video conference, Jaitley said that despite rising global oil prices also posing a challenge for the domestic economy, the future holds promising opportunities for India's growth story.
"The trade war initially created instability, but eventually may open up greater markets. They will open up India as a bigger trading and manufacturing base and, therefore, we must closely watch the situation as to when the challenge turns into an opportunity," Jaitley said.
The ongoing trade war between the US and China further escalated this week as the two economic powerhouses slapped each other with the largest rounds of tariffs yet, unleashing punitive duties now on roughly half of their traded goods.
President Donald Trump's new 10 per cent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods went into effect on Monday, spanning thousands of products, including food seasonings, baseball gloves, network routers and industrial machinery parts.
It immediately prompted Beijing to respond with tariffs on $60 billion of American goods. Neither country showed signs of backing down and there are no further trade talks scheduled to resolve the dispute.
The latest global trade protectionist measures, along with high crude oil prices, put the Indian rupee on a downward spiral this month, dragging it down to a record low of 72.98 against the US dollar on September 18.
On the impact of rising crude oil prices, Jaitley said: "Notwithstanding these challenges, I'm quite certain that in the days and years to come, there are great opportunities for India in order to grow."
Petrol and diesel prices have been daily climbing record levels for nearly a month now. While petrol in Mumbai is over Rs 90 per litre, in Delhi it has gone upwards of an all-time high of Rs 83.
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Ayush signs off with silver at Badminton Asia Championships
Ningbo (China) (PTI): India's Ayush Shetty signed off with a silver medal after his giant-killing run ended in a straight-game loss to world No. 2 Shi Yu Qi in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships here on Sunday.
The 20-year-old from Mangalore struggled to find his rhythm, going down 8-21, 10-21 to the reigning world champion from China, as India's 61-year wait for a men's singles gold at the event continued.
Despite the loss, it was a creditable campaign from the unseeded youngster, who became only the second Indian men's singles player after Dinesh Khanna to reach the final of the continental showpiece.
Khanna remains the only Indian singles champion at the event, having won the title in 1965. Since then, only the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have lifted the trophy, winning it in 2023.
World No. 25 Ayush entered the contest on the back of defeats to Shi at the Malaysia Super 1000 earlier this year and the Indonesia Masters last season. However, he had played with far greater control and attacking clarity this week, toppling world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, world No. 4 Jonatan Christie and world No. 7 Li Shi Feng en route to the final.
However, the Indian, a product of the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru, failed to counter the tactical discipline of Shi, who used his repertoire of strokes and deception to deny Ayush the opportunity to play his natural attacking game.
Shi dictated the geometry of the court from the outset, controlling the net exchanges and forcing Ayush into the forecourt battle early. The variation in the Chinese player’s game blunted the Indian’s attack, as his smashes lacked precision and he succumbed to scoreboard pressure, leading to rushed shot-making.
Shi Yu Qi logged the opening points with two fine net dribbles to race to a 4-0 lead, as Ayush’s smashes lacked precision early on and he trailed 2-6. A long rally ended with the Chinese player going wide, offering the Indian some respite. A deceptive net shot helped Shi move to 7-4, and he extended the lead to 11-6 as Ayush struggled for control, committing a string of unforced errors.
Shi mixed it up effectively, producing a lovely drop shot and repeatedly drawing the Indian to the forecourt with cross returns like a metronome, forcing errors. Two down-the-line smashes gave Shi a massive cushion of game points, and he sealed the opening game when Ayush sprayed a return wide.
The Indian needed a complete reset to stay alive, and he responded with a thunderous straight smash before diving on both flanks to keep the shuttle in play and move to 3-1 in the second game. Shi continued to test Ayush with backhand deceptive net strokes and pushes to the deep, but the Indian managed to retrieve everything and even found his precision in time, with an on-the-line smash confirmed by Hawk-Eye and a well-constructed rally taking him to 7-2.
However, he couldn't hold on to the momentum as the Chinese clawed back to 7-7 after two long shots and a smash into the net from Ayush. A return that kissed the backline from Shi, followed by another error from Ayush at the net and a return into the net, handed the Chinese the advantage once again at the interval, as he led 11-8.
Shi’s ability to place the shuttle into empty spaces with his repertoire of strokes, often punctuated by a fierce smash, made life difficult for the Indian as he stretched the lead to 13-8. Soon, the Chinese was up 15-9 with another powerful smash.
A body return followed by a straight smash took him to 17-9, and another long shot from Ayush further dented his chances. A perfectly angled smash into the forehand corner brought Shi within two points of victory. He then unleashed a cross-court smash to earn 10 match points and sealed the contest with a return that cramped the Indian, targeting his hip.
