US Senator Sam Brownback warned India of the impending "danger" from China, which he said was becoming economically and militarily stronger by the day due to its encouraging policies for attracting foreign direct investment.
"The gap between India-US bilateral trade has been increasing immensely since the last five to six years and if India does not follow a more open policy towards reforms and fails to market its products aggressively, it will be dangerous for both itself and the US," Brownback said at a seminar 'Unleashing India in the Global Market', organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
He said while China managed to attract a whopping $1.2 billion US FDI in 2001, India's share declined to a paltry $30 million.
Asked how could the growing FDI flow into China pose a problem for India, the Republican senator from Kansas -- famous for the Brownback Amendment which advocated lifting of sanctions on India and Pakistan imposed after nuclear tests -- said, "Due to its growth in the economic sphere, China is investing heavily in its military, which is being aggressively funded by the Chinese economy.
"Thus, India should think and ponder vis-a-vis its policies towards globalisation as well as attracting FDI," he suggested.
Listing the major irritants in the way of FDI inflow in India, Brownback said, "High tariffs and lax intellectual property rights are some of the major problems.
"Apart from this, the slow pace of economic reforms and the impression that the Indian government is not forthcoming to foreign investors are also hurting relations."
He said it was high time India and US used their "natural relationship" to strengthen economic ties, which "are really important for the future growth of their bilateral relations, particularly for India," he said.
"I believe India and the US will benefit through stronger economic ties and if India does not take immediate steps, China will continue to attract more and more FDI inflows which could be troublesome for India," he said.
On two-way trade of India and China with the US, he said while it was a massive $116 billion for China in the year 2000, India could only manage a poor $14.4 billion.
He said the Indian business community should send out delegations to various western countries and interact with global business leaders as well as the respective country heads on steps required to boost economic relations.
UNI
