'We Learn To Compete From  Neighbour Like China', Jaishankar On India's Domestic Manufacturing

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar exaggerated the importance of Domestic manufacturing to build the overall economy and the country's influence globally. Jashankar said that boosting India's domestic manufacturing plays a major role in competing with neighbouring like China.

Jaishankar praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and stated that PM Modi has focused on enhancing domestic manufacturing in the last 10 years which was neglected before 2014. 

In an exclusive interview with PTI, MEA said that the lack of focus in the past on the manufacturing sector is linked to the upward trajectory in India-China trade. "We need to be confident. I am clear that international politics and international relations are competitive. I have a neighbour like China. I have to learn to compete," Jaishankar said.

"By my complaining, China is not going to stop doing things. If I do not build up my strength at home, our foreign policy will be as good as our domestic policy," he said.

Jaishankar further added that building the domestic policy can add the tools in the toolkits of foreign policy. "It is a function of our domestic policy that if I can actually build up my economy if I can build up my manufacturing, if I can create the kind of capabilities which today I am trying to do, I think you are going to find foreign policy has much more resources and much more tool in its toolkit to actually influence the world," he added.

Reacting to the India-China relationship, He stated that the Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved, though the two sides have disengaged from several friction points.

"I think it is common sense that if there is no peace and tranquillity in the border, how can you have a normal relationship," he said.

"After all if somebody is at your front door in an unfriendly manner, you are not going to go out there and act as though everything is normal. That to me is a straightforward proposition," he said.

Between 2015 to 2022, India-China bilateral trade grew by 90.14 per cent, with an average yearly growth of 12.87 per cent. In 2022, trade with China increased by 8.47 per cent year on year, reaching USD 136.26 billion, crossing the USD 100 billion mark for the second time in a row, PTI reported.

Jaishankar further listed various initiatives taken by the Modi government to enhance domestic manufacturing which includes the 'Make in India' and 'Production Linked Incentive' (PLI) schemes.

He also said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi believes that our country is incapable of manufacturing. "In fact when Make in India was started, you have people who even laughed at it. Even now there are people like Rahul Gandhi who believe that we are incapable of manufacturing in this country and there are some economists who also have that kind of view," he said.