The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday rejected a report by Bloomberg that claimed Chinese President Xi Jinping had sent a “secret” letter to his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu.

Addressing the press, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiwal said, “We have seen that report and can confirm that the story about the letter is incorrect…”

Earlier a Bloomberg report claimed that China reached out to India through a secret letter to President Droupadi Murmu, aiming to understand India’s views on improving the ties between the two countries.

ALSO READ

The report cited an unnamed Indian official as its source, and said the letter was sent from Chinese President Xi to his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu. The message was for PM Narendra Modi and the Government of India, the report further said.

However, India has called the report “incorrect”, and added no such letter was received by President Murmu.

India-China relations amid Trump tariffs

India and China are seeing improvement in their ties following Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs and action against the BRICS countries. Trump said he was not happy with Indian market barring US businesses while New Delhi continues to sell a lot in America.

He also called India and China a “tariff abuser”, accusing the two Asian countries of levying heavy duties that he claimed is costing the US economy badly. However, Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on India brought the latter closer to China.

ALSO READ

PM Narendra Modi also met Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China. The two leaders shared thoughts on a number of issues and Beijing said it supports New Delhi against Trump’s “bullying” tariffs. The two leaders also met Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Trump shared a post on TruthSocial saying the US has lost both India and Russia to “deepest, darkest China“.