PM Modi met President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Qingdao, where he invited the Chinese leader to India for a Wuhan-like informal summit next year. Jinping accepted the invitation.
China could be our threat number one, but it is more likely to threaten us with more plastic toys aimed at our markets than Dong Feng missiles zeroing in on Raisina Hill.
The world watched aghast as police armed with tasers, tear-gas masks—and in one case backed up by snipers—arrested hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters at universities across the United States.
The Asian Development Outlook 2024 report suggests that policymakers in the region should monitor a number of risks. These include escalating conflicts and geopolitical tensions.
Germany’s erstwhile Christian Democratic Union govt, led by Angela Merkel, prevented sale of small arms to police forces in states they perceived had ‘bad human rights record’.
A theme has not yet emerged for BJP & people see lack of a contest, which makes it unexciting. For all these reasons, 2024 is turning out to be an unexpectedly theme-less election.
We need to also look at what we buy and how much value they add to us. India needs to place heavy tarrif on goods that are cheap but of poor quality. Goods of good quality that can enhance our productivity should be imported. Indian manufacturers also need to step up on forward integrations and try to become more competitive. Indian government needs to build the Infrastructure needed to enable industries at a much faster pace than it is today.
Regarding building trade relationship with China, it is a futile exercise. China’s mask has been exposed clearly when in thwarted India’s attempt to blacklist terrorists. It would make sense to focus on countries like Taiwan , Israle, France, Germany etc and see how India can take advantage of there technical capabilities to enhance our productivity and competitiveness. Imports frim China are also good if they can improve our productivity and competitivenes. IMHO China would never export anything that would improve India’s long term competitiveness. It is proboably focused on blunting India’s edge in the long run to thwart India’s raise and dominate Asia if not the world.
1. It may be true that at present India has no choice but to allow duty-free imports from China. We are aware of trade war between USA & China and as they say no one wins in trade wars. 2. But I guess trade wars become inevitable when a country like Communist China poses a threat to local manufacturers and cannot be deterred by negotiations. 3. Then, what is alternative left? Is it not true that during last two decades or so China has used free trade policies very cleverly to increase exports and rapidly expand its manufacturing capabilities? At same time, China has used its opaque systems to devise a strategy which has enabled it to restrict imports. 4. Is it true that on account of Communist China’s invisible subsidies to its manufacturing sector, democratic countries like USA, India and many EU countries are at a disadvantage when they trade with China? I think all democratic countries must join hands so that they can defeat China in its game of subsidized exports. 4. I wish to record one more incidental observation. China today has one point agenda- that of proving to the world that it is a super-power and no one should even think of challenging China. If one observes, Chinese actions during the last few years- be they are with regard to its claim on the South China Sea islands or our own Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Sikkim- they are all well-directed to destabilize our country. I believe that the democratic world should take cognizance of this new ugly face of aggressive China.
Agricultural commodities, minerals and raw materials, the mainstay of Indian exports to China can go only so far. The bulk of global merchandise trade consists of manufactured goods. That is where India is weak, with expensive power and poor transport infrastructure being partly responsible. Indian exports today are lower than they were in 2014. 2. India – with or without joining BRI – should be more open to long term Chinese investment. We could also encourage Chinese firms to shift some of their manufacturing facilities to India, where their labour costs have risen enormously.
We, in fact, have more than one weakness. Our biggest weakness is the trading mindset that our business leaders have and the politicians who would do anything for traders to succeed. A simple study of productivity, value-addition, product or process innovation among Indian businesses will tell us why we fail. To add to our own misery, our businesses don’t have or don’t invest sufficient equity. They use public sectors banks as their piggy banks who provide them equity in guise of loans. Our capital markets fail to inspire confidence of local investors and therefore the money raised from the primary market in most years is pathetically low. Our secondary markets are source of speculative rent seeking by foreign and domestic institutional investors. Our desperation to keep INR appreciating, without reason, provides free lunch to equity investors. Even when we have international money, it comes in form of private equity – short term and extremely expensive. As a result what we have is a business eco-system that is rent seeking – is unwilling and is unable to take risk. R&D Investment even by the most profitable firms in major industries is pathetic.
We need to also look at what we buy and how much value they add to us. India needs to place heavy tarrif on goods that are cheap but of poor quality. Goods of good quality that can enhance our productivity should be imported. Indian manufacturers also need to step up on forward integrations and try to become more competitive. Indian government needs to build the Infrastructure needed to enable industries at a much faster pace than it is today.
Regarding building trade relationship with China, it is a futile exercise. China’s mask has been exposed clearly when in thwarted India’s attempt to blacklist terrorists. It would make sense to focus on countries like Taiwan , Israle, France, Germany etc and see how India can take advantage of there technical capabilities to enhance our productivity and competitiveness. Imports frim China are also good if they can improve our productivity and competitivenes. IMHO China would never export anything that would improve India’s long term competitiveness. It is proboably focused on blunting India’s edge in the long run to thwart India’s raise and dominate Asia if not the world.
Wah Modi ji Wah Wah
But Modi admirers say that India will topple Chinese economy if he comes back to power.
For Modi India, there is only one war. Against Pak.
Ha ha
If we shed our penchant for buying sub standard and cheap goods, we may be able to discourage Chinese imports.
1. It may be true that at present India has no choice but to allow duty-free imports from China. We are aware of trade war between USA & China and as they say no one wins in trade wars. 2. But I guess trade wars become inevitable when a country like Communist China poses a threat to local manufacturers and cannot be deterred by negotiations. 3. Then, what is alternative left? Is it not true that during last two decades or so China has used free trade policies very cleverly to increase exports and rapidly expand its manufacturing capabilities? At same time, China has used its opaque systems to devise a strategy which has enabled it to restrict imports. 4. Is it true that on account of Communist China’s invisible subsidies to its manufacturing sector, democratic countries like USA, India and many EU countries are at a disadvantage when they trade with China? I think all democratic countries must join hands so that they can defeat China in its game of subsidized exports. 4. I wish to record one more incidental observation. China today has one point agenda- that of proving to the world that it is a super-power and no one should even think of challenging China. If one observes, Chinese actions during the last few years- be they are with regard to its claim on the South China Sea islands or our own Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Sikkim- they are all well-directed to destabilize our country. I believe that the democratic world should take cognizance of this new ugly face of aggressive China.
Agricultural commodities, minerals and raw materials, the mainstay of Indian exports to China can go only so far. The bulk of global merchandise trade consists of manufactured goods. That is where India is weak, with expensive power and poor transport infrastructure being partly responsible. Indian exports today are lower than they were in 2014. 2. India – with or without joining BRI – should be more open to long term Chinese investment. We could also encourage Chinese firms to shift some of their manufacturing facilities to India, where their labour costs have risen enormously.
We, in fact, have more than one weakness. Our biggest weakness is the trading mindset that our business leaders have and the politicians who would do anything for traders to succeed. A simple study of productivity, value-addition, product or process innovation among Indian businesses will tell us why we fail. To add to our own misery, our businesses don’t have or don’t invest sufficient equity. They use public sectors banks as their piggy banks who provide them equity in guise of loans. Our capital markets fail to inspire confidence of local investors and therefore the money raised from the primary market in most years is pathetically low. Our secondary markets are source of speculative rent seeking by foreign and domestic institutional investors. Our desperation to keep INR appreciating, without reason, provides free lunch to equity investors. Even when we have international money, it comes in form of private equity – short term and extremely expensive. As a result what we have is a business eco-system that is rent seeking – is unwilling and is unable to take risk. R&D Investment even by the most profitable firms in major industries is pathetic.