China should open its market to BRICS nations and make it easier for them to sell their products in the country, Former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant has said.
“China needs to open up itself for imports. He added that China should also build closer economic ties with BRICS members and allow more imports from them. Chinese automobile companies also started doing business in the country. “But I think it needs far greater level of flexibility. I’ve been a great believer that for clean technologies, India needs to work with China very closely in many areas of growth,” he added. Kant stated India should work closely with China in areas such as batteries, critical minerals, electric vehicles, solar power and other clean technologies. Kant also pointed out that China has a major position in clean technology. Kant added that Indian pharmaceutical and food processing companies, for example, face difficulties when trying to export to China. The expanded BRICS now includes countries such as Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Because it represents around 50% of the world’s population and close to 40% of global GDP, kant said BRICS is important. Because its original focus on economic issues has expanded to include more political issues, however, he said the group faces several challenges. Because these countries have different positions on the conflict, kant said the ongoing conflict in West Asia is a major challenge.
Kant said India had opened its economy to Chinese investment after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in 2015. After that, India introduced Press Note 3, which tightened rules for investments from countries sharing a land border with India. He said Press Note 2 has now defined beneficial ownership and allows up to 10% investment from China into Indian companies. He said China has around 90% of the battery market and is a major player in electric vehicles, solar manufacturing, wind energy and critical minerals. Kant said this is important for India’s goal of becoming a developed country and building a $30 trillion economy.
Speaking to NDTV ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Kant said China cannot keep sending its products to countries around the world while making it difficult for businesses from other countries to sell their goods in its territory. It can’t be dumping its goods on economies across the world and not opening up its markets,” Kant said. “China should be seen as a country which welcomes the flow of technology from China to BRIC countries,” Kant said. He said several Chinese companies, including Xiaomi and Oppo, entered India during that period. “Everything was going very smoothly till Galwan happened,” Kant said, adding that India lost trust in China after the Galwan clash. Kant said this affected Chinese investments in India, including investments through private equity and venture capital funds that had links with Hong Kong. “For clean technologies, India needs to work with China very closely in many areas of growth,” he said, adding that India needs to work with China on components and machinery manufacturing, particularly for batteries and critical minerals. He said China should make it easier for these technologies to flow to other BRICS countries. And at the same time, he said China must give other BRICS countries greater access to its market. “One, because BRICS, from its original foundation, which was economic, has politically expanded with close to six other members a few years back,” he added. He said India must ensure that BRICS returns to its main focus of economic growth, development, stability and reform of global institutions. “It’s very, very critical that India plays a major role in ensuring that this body of key countries does not in any manner or form take an anti-West approach,” Kant said. India, he said, needs to work with the US, Europe and the UK while also maintaining strong ties with Russia and China.
