Mumbai: Stating that we are at least 15 years behind China in growth and development, ex-foreign secretary Nirupama Rao Thursday blamed the trade, technology and innovation gaps for this and called for effective policy measures to catch up with the Northern neighbour.
The comments from the former top-diplomat who served the Manmohan Singh government comes days after the economy slumping to a 25-quarter low of 5 per cent-which is even below Pakistan’s 5.4 per cent – in the June quarter amidst massive job losses.
The comments also come amidst the rising threats to global trade arising from the US which has been selectively targetting large economies, especially China. “We are where Chinese were in 2003…some 15-16 years behind them. There is a reform gap as we started much later than them. There are also trade, technology, innovation gaps. I think this is what should keep our policymakers awake at 3 am,” Rao told an Asiatic Society organized panel discussion global trade.
She also picked holes in the local manufacturing push saying after five years of Make-in-India there is a need to review it the campaign. “We had identified the key areas where would create manufacturing reputation. Five years down the line it’s time to review what has been the changes and what has to be done because, as Paul Krugman said, you need a strategic plan for manufacturing. It is not just about adding a job here or putting up a plant there,” she said.
On the raging trade war between the US and China and the threat to multilateral trade, she said the purpose of commerce is to build scale, and given the times that the world is passing through this we need more collaboration to make the global trade more resilient. “We particularly should be concerned about it because China has a lead over us. They took advantage of it as soon as they entered the WTO in early 2000. They grew and prospered. But where are we? We have to take it forward as we can’t afford to be left out. We need the multilateral trading system and also free trade.”