"Give the bully an inch [and] he will take a mile," Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong said in response to the Trump administration's latest tariffs' hike on India. Then came an unusual support for India from the ministry of foreign affairs, which criticised the US doubling of the tariffs as the "abuse of tariffs." It also justified this by saying "Beijing's opposition to the abuse of tariffs has been consistent and clear."

Global Times also slammed Washington's 50% tariffs as "punishment for India's independent foreign policy." The US treats India as expendable not a guest at the table, but an item on the menu," the paper said.

These latest messages out of the Chinese capital should not be surprising at all. They reflect self-confidence and a sense of inherent economic strength and socio-political power of a nation that boasts thousands of years of civilisation rooted in ancient wisdom.

That ancient wisdom in fact constitutes the foundation of China's national power today. Its reaction to Donald Trump's tariff aggression against India proves it again. The approach reflects consistency, pragmatism, concern for others and a strong belief in cooperation instead of coercion.

Is it China's national power what actually drives its political economy? Science and technology, hard work, the Communist Party or consistency of policies? Or........

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