India cannot become $30 tn economy without US, China, Europe: Amitabh Kant on New Delhi's BRICS challenge

Former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant has urged India to steer BRICS carefully as wars, protectionism, and the breakdown of global supply chains reshape the global economy. He said the grouping must not become an anti-West platform.

"The BRICS summit is being held at a very challenging time. These are challenging times because there are conflicts everywhere. You are seeing conflict in Europe. You're seeing conflict in West Asia. This is having a huge repercussion on global economies," Kant said on Thursday while speaking at the India Today BRICS Roundtable.

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He said there was a complete breakdown of global supply chains, protectionism, muscular industrial policies across the world, and unilateral action by responsible nations, including the United States.

In this environment, Kant said, BRICS has an important role to play. The grouping accounts for about 48-49% of the global population and around 40% of global GDP. But India, he added, needs to "steer the course very steadily".

"It's important to ensure that this group doesn't take any anti-West stance," Kant said. The challenge has become harder with the addition of six members, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, which he noted are on "two differing sides of the conflict in West Asia".

"To be able to arrive at a consensus and to be able to draft out a resolution which brings everybody on board, is to my mind, achievable but very challenging," he said.

Kant said India's approach should reflect the changing balance of economic power. He highlighted that the US accounts for about 28% of global GDP and around 50% of global market capitalisation, while China accounts for close to 19% of global GDP.

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China, however, is expanding rapidly into new areas of growth, particularly clean technologies. "It has a complete control monopolising of clean technologies, and it is weaponising them in a very big way. Therefore, it is necessary and in its own national interest to work with the United States."

"No country in the world has become rich without working with the United States," the former Niti Aayog CEO said. "Post-World War II, Japan penetrated the United States markets. Later, Korea penetrated the United States, and for the last three decades, China has become rich on account of the US. Its ability to export and penetrate the American markets, and therefore it'll be very difficult for India to grow into a 30-plus trillion dollar economy without a multi-aligned policy of working with the US, Europe, and China as well."

Asked if that was what India was already doing, Kant said: "That's exactly what India is doing, and that must be the attempt."

He said India must now play a stabilising role within BRICS. "India must act like a seasoned player that is on course, steadying the ship in very choppy waters. These are very difficult and challenging times. If anyone can do it, it's India. Only India can steady the course of the BRCIS," Kant said.

China's Clean-Tech Dominance

Kant said India's engagement with China would be particularly important because of the trade imbalance between the two countries and Beijing's growing dominance in clean technologies.

"It's very important for India - because India needs to grow its trade, there are very little exports we do, we do a very substantial amount of imports from China - to understand that China is weaponising all its clean technologies," he said.

The former bureaucrat argued that China's control over parts of the clean-tech supply chain had become so extensive that it was difficult for other countries to compete. "They increase the price of cell battery, the cell technology, and they decrease the price of the end batteries. It's impossible to manufacture in any other country," Kant said. "The monopolisation is to such a high extent that they've created a virtual oligopoly in this sector."

Kant said India should use its bilateral engagement with Beijing to push for greater access to technology and more competition in the sector. "So it's very important to tell the Chinese to open up in some of these areas so that you are able to ensure that there are technology flows, that you are able to ensure that clean technology develops in other parts of the world, and that critical mineral processing is not monopolised by one country of the world," he said.