Amitabh Kant Urges China to Open Markets to BRICS, Deepen Clean-Tech Ties
Amitabh Kant has called on China to open its market to BRICS nations and share clean technology, while urging India to engage Beijing on batteries and critical minerals.
Former G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant has called on China to open its market to BRICS economies, arguing that Beijing cannot keep exporting its goods worldwide while restricting access for other countries' products.
Speaking ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Kant said China needs to welcome imports and allow emerging economies, particularly BRICS members, to sell more in its territory. He noted that Indian pharmaceutical and food processing firms face difficulties when trying to export to China.
Kant also pressed for greater technology flow, saying China should be seen as a country that welcomes the transfer of technology to BRICS nations. He pointed out that China holds around 90 per cent of the battery market and is a major player in electric vehicles, solar manufacturing, wind energy and critical minerals, and said it should make it easier for these technologies to reach other BRICS countries.
On India-China ties, Kant recalled that New Delhi had opened its economy to Chinese investment after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in 2015, when companies such as Xiaomi and Oppo entered India and Chinese automakers began operations. That momentum continued until the Galwan clash, after which India lost trust in China and introduced Press Note 3, tightening rules for investment from countries sharing a land border with India.
He said the move affected Chinese investments, including those routed through private equity and venture capital funds linked to Hong Kong. Press Note 2 has since defined beneficial ownership and permits up to 10 per cent investment from China into Indian companies, but Kant argued that far greater flexibility is needed.
He said India should work closely with China on batteries, critical minerals, electric vehicles, solar power and other clean technologies, as well as on components and machinery manufacturing.
Turning to BRICS, Kant noted that the grouping represents about 50 per cent of the world's population and close to 40 per cent of global GDP. He said its original economic focus has expanded into political issues with the addition of new members, including Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and that the ongoing conflict in West Asia poses a major challenge given their differing positions.
Kant said India must steer BRICS back to its core priorities of economic growth, development, stability and reform of global institutions, and ensure the bloc does not adopt an anti-West posture. He added that India needs to work with the US, Europe and the UK while maintaining strong ties with Russia and China to achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation and building a $30 trillion economy.