Former Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo at Kautilya Conclave: India is not seen as a threat to major powers like China

What Yeo said

According to Yeo, India's position on the edge of the Indian Ocean has been such that for centuries, there has been a movement of people, cultures, spices, and ideas. This made India particularly open to the outside world. He said that for this reason, foreign visitors can feel comfortable in India, whereas in China, they might feel like a "foreigner in a crowd of homogeneous people." He also added that it is not entirely easy for foreigners to understand China.

Yeo stated that India has positioned itself well among major powers, and Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, and America all want India to perform well. According to him, India does not appear to challenge any major power in the way China does. He also acknowledged that given China's history and social structure, it is less likely to seek a role of global dominance. These are Yeo's personal assessments and not part of any official policy.

Different stance on WTO

In the same session, Yeo said that India and China have similar stances on many issues and that both could play a role in running the World Trade Organization (WTO) even without the United States. According to reports, Jaishankar did not appear to agree with this. He said that market distortions have been created not only by the US but by other countries as well. He also pointed to India's large trade deficit with China and the demand for better market access. Yeo held the US responsible for blocking the appointments of judges to the WTO's Appellate Body.

In a separate conversation, Yeo advised India to adopt a "highly pragmatic" approach toward China and said that in areas like AI, India should not be overly dependent on the US or China.

What Jaishankar said

Jaishankar described the current era as a time of change and said that the coming times could be one of turmoil and uncertainty. He emphasized the need for multi-alignment and said that India has to strike a balance between the US, the rise of China, traditional relations with Russia, and new possibilities with Europe. He also mentioned challenges related to conflict, economic pressure, and energy, food, and fertilizers.

About the event

The Kautilya Economic Conclave, which ran from October 3 to 5, is organized by the Institute of Economic Growth in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance. This year's theme was "Resilience in an Age of Flux." The closing session, "India and the World: Adaptive by Design," was moderated by N.K. Singh.