And for a Friday amidst scanty but significant signals from China, some thoughts….. some musings…..
Inspite of the absolute powers wrested by President Xi Jinping and the almost total control and censoring of all news out of China, last few weeks have seen very disturbing pictures of a silent revolt; innovative methods of protests by students, workers and ordinary citizens who have been subjected to unprecedented measures on the alleged Covid resurgence and China’s zero tolerance approach. Apart from the big cities of Shanghai and Beijing, many places across China are subjected to quarantine. In Lanzhou, a city of 4 million people are completely locked down for weeks. All these disturbances impact trade and business. India is hugely dependent on Chinese imports. Our trade deficit with China continues to widen explosively. In the 6 months of the current year, imports have risen 35% to almost 60 Bn $, whereas exports from India to China has shrunk to just 9.5 Bn $. It’s a situation to be seriously analysed by Policy makers and Indian corporates.
The uncertainties and volatile geopolitical situations in the world offers some good opportunities for India to realign its trade, business and defense relationships. Currently India and US are conducting a joint military exercise in Uttarakhand near the LAC under the title “Yudh Abhyas”, a bilateral training exercise to improve the interoperability of the Indian and US armies. Germany is Europe’s major economy, with a very strong presence in China. But many large German companies like BOSCH, Siemens, BASF, and SAP are successfully operating in India. China plus one must be encouraged. UK is finalising a FTA whilst we already have FTAs with UAE and Australia. With the G-20 leadership also coming to India this year, it’s a big and unprecedented opportunity for the Nation.
The World is at crossroads. India could be the oasis offering peace growth and stability. Let us all take part in a sustainable way, involved way, SEEGOS way.