'Hire American' could challenge PM Modi's Make in India: Chinese media

Beijing: President Donald Trump’s ‘Hire American’ policy could challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, Chinese media warned today, even as it commented that the US’ continued engagement with Asian allies may benefit India-US ties.

“It is being speculated that Trump could request more access to India’s market while following protectionist policies at home,” an article in the state-run Global Times said.

“This move would impact firms outsourcing to India and Indian exporters, particularly in the sectors of IT and pharmaceuticals. Currently, India has one of the largest numbers of educated, technically trained people in the world, making it a favoured outsourcing destination for some of the largest US firms. Trump’s ‘bring jobs back to America’ is a challenge to Modi’s ‘Make in India’,” it said.

“With regard to Iran, India wouldn’t want many alterations to the US-Iran nuclear deal. The former US-initiated sanctions made it hard for India to engage with Iran and significantly reduced the imports from its neighbour,” it said.

The article noted that Mr Trump has directed the Department of Labour to investigate “all abuses of visa programmes that undercut American workers”.

“If any visa restrictions are imposed, they would definitely constrain the movement of Indian IT professionals. Indians are believed to be the largest recipients of H-1B visas in the US, and IT companies that outsource to India are among the top sponsors of such visas. Such a move will definitely not go down well with Indian public as well as leaders,” it said.

But at the same time, the US’ continued engagement with its Asian allies like Japan and South Korea would work in India’s favour and its commitment to its position on South China Sea might also bring India and US closer, boosting engagement in the field of security, it said.

“Moreover, cooperation on India’s anti-terrorism efforts would be welcome,” it said.