"During Prime Minister Modi's visit to Washington from June 21 to 23, significant steps were taken to strengthen India's bilateral relations with the United States.
In Washington, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political journey proved to be very successful, especially on economic fronts, as Jared Bernstein, President Biden's top economic advisor, stated and emphasized that India is a long-standing friend of America.
During the meetings between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden, both leaders highlighted the enduring friendship and growing cooperation between the two countries, spanning various areas such as trade and investment, defense and security, energy, climate change, and people-to-people relations.
Top American economist Bernstein, who serves as the Chair of the United States Council of Economic Advisers, stated that Prime Minister Modi's recent official trip to America was a highly successful journey, particularly concerning economic matters.
"We not only recognize India as a long-term friend of our country but also as a rising democracy. Through these meetings, we have strengthened those relations... From an economic perspective, we are very open to global trade, and that means we are ready to engage in trade with both major and minor economies," he expressed in an interview.
"However, it is evident that India is in the midst of this discussion. We are investing domestically, investing in domestic production, welcoming direct foreign investment from other countries, but we also stand tall," he added, referring to the types of industries discussed earlier.
Bernstein explained that Bidenomics is an alternative approach to boosting the American economy, diverging from the trickle-down economic theory that has been failing the country for decades.
President Biden's plan, termed "Bidenomics," aims to "build back better" from the ground up and from the middle out, reducing investment in fundamental structures and primary needs to benefit the wealthy and large corporations disproportionately. This strategy has not been successful in spurring economic growth as intended.
Regarding the challenge posed by China, Bernstein mentioned that the area where China presents the most competition is undoubtedly in geopolitical struggles.
"Of course, there are relations between China and Ukraine, but from an economic perspective, I prefer not to comment on that... From an economic standpoint, our trade flows with China and other parts of the world remain strong. I believe that is essential," he remarked.
"We have discussed de-risking, not decoupling, which ensures that our supply chains are resilient, that our supply lines are more flexible, and that we are dealing with the technological challenges posed by countries that seek to weaponize technology against us. Alongside, we maintain a trade flow that helps keep prices low and benefits from some of the more positive aspects of globalization," said the top economic advisor.
