'America must assist rise of India to counter China': US think tank

A low-cost way to counteract the influence of Chinese authoritarianism early and often is to encourage India to engage more deeply as a competitor with China in the global economy, a top American think tank suggested on Thursday. 

In its latest report 'A US-India Trade Agenda for the Biden Administration', Washington-based Hudson Institute said that India should aim for increased US investment and trade relations to enhance the potential for US-India cooperation in confronting the rise of China.

The report, written by Husain Haqqani and Aparna Pande, says that it was in America's interest to assist the rise of India. ''The US ought to counteract the influence of Chinese authoritarianism early and often. One relatively low-cost way is to encourage India to engage more deeply as a competitor with China in the global economy,'' it said

READ | 'India Is A Critical Partner', Says Pentagon Ahead Of Third Quad Security Dialogue

READ | India Invites US To Set Up Manufacturing; Goyal Says 'will Help Further Bilateral Trade'

'India should move away from protectionism'

The report calls upon India to move away from protectionism. ''For Indian consumers and businesses, protectionist practices deliver the opposite of protection. Softened restrictions could attract American and European companies that are moving away from China. Not only would India's economy grow but this would also help with employment generation,'' it said. 

The think tank also suggested that the Indian bureaucracy's dislike for foreign corporations has posed an obstruction in strengthening India-US ties. ''Preventing competition within the Indian market and 'using regulation to benefit indigenous companies' will only impair India's growth and limit its potential," it noted.

The Hudson Institute, in its report, calls upon the Biden administration to ''encourage India to lower tariffs, to remove barriers to foreign retail, to roll back unnecessarily restrictive data privacy rules, and to provide economic incentives for foreign investment.''

READ | India, China Cannot Have 'normal' Relationship If There Is 'transgression' In Border Areas: Shringla

READ | SAARC Nations Thank PM Modi For Vaccines; Support All 5 Proposals After COVID-19 Workshop

(With agency inputs)