Amid US tariff war, Amitabh Kant urges India-China joint ventures to power growth

New Delhi [India], August 14 : Former Niti Aayog chief and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Thursday urged India and China to come together in joint ventures to power growth. This would enable not only 'Make in India' but also accelerate 'Manufacture in India'.

While responding to how India should navigate the dilemma of dealing with China, which is the second-largest economy, despite being a large trading partner, Amitabh Kant toldthat it is in India's economic interest that instead of importing from China, the country should aim at joint ventures with Chinese companies.

Kant said, "We do about 120 billion worth of imports from China. Despite having a very adverse relationship with Japan, China continued to maintain a very close economic relationship with Japan. China has a very adverse political relationship with Taiwan. Yet the biggest investors in China are Taiwan and the Taiwanese businessmen. To my mind, it is in our economic interest that instead of importing from China, we should get Chinese to do joint ventures with Indian companies on a minority stake and do manufacturing in India, and that will enable India to do both input manufacturing and component manufacturing and accelerate the process of Make in India and accelerate the process of Manufacture in India, and that to my mind is a long term answer to economic growth".

Speaking about India's growth trajectory, Kant told ANI, "The key is how do we take India from a USD 4 trillion to a USD 35 trillion economy by the time we become 100? That's the vision of the Prime Minister. We need to provide momentum for growth. We need to grow at 8 to 9 per cent per annum, year after year. Instead of importing, we should focus on manufacturing in India with China. That will create jobs in India."

On being asked about realpolitik and whether this can go hand in hand, Kant told ANI, "I think we should revisit Press note 3 as has been recommended by Niti Ayog and some other bodies, and I think we've imposed Press note 3 at the time of Doklam. Since then, there's been a lot of change in geopolitics".

He reiterated, "We should look forward to a collaborative manufacturing partnership with China in India."

China and India had both faced the brunt of the tariffs imposed by the United States.

CNN reported on Tuesday, citing CNBC, that the United States and China agreed to pause tariff hikes on each other's goods for an additional 90 days, according to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday.

It further mentioned that in a joint statement with the US, China confirmed the 90-day trade talks extension and noted that it would maintain the 10 per cent tariffs it has imposed on American goods during that period. The statement was based on the bilateral negotiations that took place in Sweden last month, as per CNN.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump had signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India. Trump cited matters of national security and foreign policy concerns, as well as other relevant trade laws, for the increase, claiming that India's imports of Russian oil, directly or indirectly, pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.

Terming the United States' move to impose additional tariffs on India over its oil imports from Russia as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had previously declared that New Delhi will take "all actions necessary to protect its national interests.

China voiced its opposition to the US announcement of tariffs against India. The Spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, in his press briefing, while responding to media queries, called the act an 'abuse of tariffs'.

When asked about comments on Trump's executive order to place an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, he said, "China's opposition to the abuse of tariffs is consistent and clear. China opposes the US politicising tech and trade issues and using them as weapons to maliciously blockade and go after China. The US should earnestly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals."

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