India watching outcome of Biden-Xi summit very closely: USISPF CEO
Mukesh Aghi, CEO of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) told PTI that it is important that communication starts between the US and China, the two largest global economies.
The much-anticipated summit between Biden and Xi will take place on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which the US is hosting in San Francisco from November 11 to 17.
“I think the summit is important both from President Biden's perspective and also President Xi's perspective. China is struggling with its economy.
There are issues in the growth story, unemployment. And the US is going into an election, and it already has two wars going on, one in the Middle East and one in Ukraine.
So, it needs a China which is stable, it needs a China, which is collaborative and cooperative. Will that happen? We don't know, but I think it's important that communication starts between the two countries,” Aghi said.
“Now, from an Indian perspective, I think you have two weak leaders coming together.
And you have PM Modi who's a strong leader at the moment. So, I think India is going to watch this carefully because it does have an impact geopolitically or on India's position in the Indo-Pacific region.
We wish all the best outcomes at the same time, India will watch this very, very carefully,” he said.
Aghi asserted that the India-US relationship is “very strong”, has momentum, and is moving in the right direction.
“Yes, you do have all the time in any relationship, but I think the maturity of the leadership on both sides can handle those issues. So, I feel the momentum continues,” he said.
Aghi said bilateral trade is on the rise, the number of Indian students in the US has gone up to 2,70,000,
