West must take India more seriously in role to balance China: Report
New Delhi, July 31
While for the last 20 years, Western governments have seen India as indispensable to the 21st-century order, they have not matched this with capital investment which has instead been flowing into China over the last 30 years and created a strategic adversary, according to an article published Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.
The article highlights that India is not yet the anchor of an industrial alternative capable of balancing China. But it is the only country with the scale to become one.
The West is now trying to correct a compounded strategic error by relying on incremental corporate decisions. Companies are encouraged to adopt "China plus one", but they face incentives that favour China which has better infrastructure such as power and ports, that rising industrial powers are still trying to build, the article written by Stephanie Campbell states.
"The policy failure is to mistake the accumulation of fragmented corporate decisions for strategic rebalancing. Governments now ask firms to bear the cost of reversing a concentration created by decades of collective investment and reinforced by Western policy," the article observes.
"PM Modi has spent more than a decade trying to convert India's demographic and geopolitical scale into industrial power, with promising but uneven results. But India cannot become a second centre of industrial gravity through domestic reform alone," the article further states.
It highlights that building a genuine alternative requires governments to alter the conditions under which private investment becomes commercially rational at scale, not to direct individual investments.
While Vietnam, Mexico, Indonesia and others can absorb specific industries and create valuable redundancy, India is the only country that can provide an industrial alternative at continental scale.
"The relevant choice is between a strategically autonomous India and continued industrial dependence on a strategic competitor. The West is demanding greater alignment from the country it needs to strengthen than it demanded from the adversary it allowed itself to depend upon," the article observes.
It also highlights that although Australia cannot finance India's industrial transformation, it can integrate critical minerals, energy and defence cooperation into a broader industrial strategy. India will remain strategically autonomous and - from the perspective of Western capitals - an imperfect partner. However, that imperfection is less dangerous than continued dependence on China.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The report is right that India has scale, but we also have a huge domestic market and a young workforce. The West cannot just cherry-pick sectors like defense or minerals and call it a strategy. They need to partner with us on clean energy, semiconductors, and education. Also, "China plus one" is a corporate buzzword—real change requires policy-level commitments from both sides.
As an outsider looking in, it's fascinating to see India's rise. The US and Europe have ignored this for too long. But India also needs to open up more—reduce tariffs, simplify labor laws, and make it easier for foreign companies to set up shop. You can't blame the West entirely when bureaucratic hurdles remain. Both sides need to meet halfway.
The article makes a valid point: India cannot do it alone. But we have come a long way under PM Modi—look at the PLI schemes, digital infrastructure, and the push for self-reliance. The West must realize that India is not a junior partner but an equal player. Instead of lecturing us, they should learn from our resilience. 🤝
Interesting report, but the West's problem is simple—they want India to be anti-China, not pro-India. Our foreign policy is independent, and we will not be used as a pawn. If they want a strategic partner, they must respect our non-alignment and stop pushing us into a binary choice. Also, let's talk about climate tech and trade deficits—not just defense.
S Sarah B < We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.