NEW DELHI: Foreign minister S Jaishankar on Saturday justified scrutiny of Chinese investment in India, saying it’s “common sense” to do so because of the border issue and the state of relations between the two countries.
At the ET World Leaders Forum, the minister said even those countries which don’t have a “special problem” with China do the same, underlining the security implications of Chinese investments.
Jaishankar said there’s a thin line between economic and security issues, as he emphasised that while the world has a general China problem, “India has a special China problem that is over and above the world’s China problem.”
“Once you understand that because there is a general problem with China as well as our own situation, all of you know we have a very difficult situation at the border for the last four years. I think the sensible response to it is to take the precautions that a country like India is taking,” the minister added, while stressing it has never been govt’s position that it should not get investments from China.
On increasing trade deficit with China, Jaishankar said it is because decades ago “we consciously overlooked the nature of Chinese production and the advantages which they enjoyed in a system where they got a level playing field with all the advantages they brought”.
“Europe doesn’t have a border with China… America doesn’t have a border with China… and yet they are doing that. The issue is not ‘do you have investments with China or not’, it is not a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, it is what should be the appropriate level of scrutiny and how should you handle it,” Jaishankar said.
Talking about India’s relations with its immediate neighbours, the foreign minister said it’s important for India and its neighbours to invest in each other as it would lead to a more resilient region. On relations with new govt in Bangladesh, he said he was “not in a hurry to call out the situation” and was prepared to wait a few months “for things to fructify”.
He said India has created factors of stability in the neighbourhood like those that have kicked-in in Maldives, a country with which ties have improved despite scepticism. “Our neighbours know they got vaccines because of us. Also fertilisers. Had Sri Lanka waited for IMF… God alone knows what would have happened.”
At the ET World Leaders Forum, the minister said even those countries which don’t have a “special problem” with China do the same, underlining the security implications of Chinese investments.
Jaishankar said there’s a thin line between economic and security issues, as he emphasised that while the world has a general China problem, “India has a special China problem that is over and above the world’s China problem.”
“Once you understand that because there is a general problem with China as well as our own situation, all of you know we have a very difficult situation at the border for the last four years. I think the sensible response to it is to take the precautions that a country like India is taking,” the minister added, while stressing it has never been govt’s position that it should not get investments from China.
On increasing trade deficit with China, Jaishankar said it is because decades ago “we consciously overlooked the nature of Chinese production and the advantages which they enjoyed in a system where they got a level playing field with all the advantages they brought”.
“Europe doesn’t have a border with China… America doesn’t have a border with China… and yet they are doing that. The issue is not ‘do you have investments with China or not’, it is not a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, it is what should be the appropriate level of scrutiny and how should you handle it,” Jaishankar said.
Talking about India’s relations with its immediate neighbours, the foreign minister said it’s important for India and its neighbours to invest in each other as it would lead to a more resilient region. On relations with new govt in Bangladesh, he said he was “not in a hurry to call out the situation” and was prepared to wait a few months “for things to fructify”.
He said India has created factors of stability in the neighbourhood like those that have kicked-in in Maldives, a country with which ties have improved despite scepticism. “Our neighbours know they got vaccines because of us. Also fertilisers. Had Sri Lanka waited for IMF… God alone knows what would have happened.”