WASHINGTON: India is precisely the kind of partner the US needs to provide a check against China, powerful American Senator Chuck Schumer told his colleagues on Monday.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciates the point that the two largest democracies of the world need to work together against the hegemony of the Chinese Communist Party or CCP.
Senator Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, just returned from a trip to India and other countries including Pakistan, Germany and Israel wherein he led a Congressional delegation of nine Senators.
"We relayed a very important message during our meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi. India and America are going to need each other to outcompete the Chinese Communist Party. India is precisely the kind of partner that the US needs to provide a check against the hostile tactics of the CCP. They are the world's largest democracy, still young compared to its peers and primed for tremendous growth in decades to come," Schumer told his Senatorial colleagues in a speech from the Senate floor.
"I told the Prime Minister that if our democracies are to prosper in this century, we're going to have to work together, not only to boost our common defence but to promote our mutual prosperity. That means working together to strengthen our economic ties, deepen trade, and make it easier to recruit talented workers from abroad to work in our country," Schumer said.
"It also means we must collaborate to establish the norms for the technologies of the future. Right now, the world's democracies are competing with the Chinese Communist Party to dominate the technologies that will rule this century, like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, clean energy, advanced semiconductor manufacturing and more," he said.
In India, the United States and all the world's democracies must make sure that these technologies become vectors of prosperity, not the weapons of autocratic regimes, he asserted.
Other members from the US Congressional delegation who accompanied Schumer were Senators Ron Wyden, Jack Reed, Maria Cantwell, Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner, Gary Peters, Catherine Cortez-Masto, and Peter Welch. All are from the Democratic party.
"We have already seen how the Chinese use artificial intelligence to eavesdrop on its people. I think the prime minister appreciated the point we were making about the need for India and the United States, the two largest democracies, to work together against the CCP hegemon," he said.
Schumer, who travelled to several Indian cities including Jaipur, Agra, Mumbai and New Delhi, said that India is an amazing country.
"I was enthralled by it. Incredible! It has a thriving diaspora, many of whom live in New York, here in the United States. Our partnership has a huge potential for growth in the 21st century."
The Senator said that during his meetings with the leaders of Pakistan, Germany, Israel and India including prime minister Modi, the congressional delegation stressed the importance of standing with Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. "We asked each of these leaders to do more."
Schumer said it has been more than a year now since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his "illegal" invasion. "I made it clear to leaders abroad that the worst thing we can do right now is waver in our support for the Ukrainian people. I warned them that a Russian victory in Ukraine would not mean an end to Putin's escapades and expansionist proclivities so much as it would mean an escalation of his viciousness and desire for more territory. Success in Ukraine will only embolden Putin if he sees the free nations of the world turn a blind eye to his aggressions," he said.
"Should Putin win in Ukraine, it would endanger the security of both established and burgeoning democracies across the world, and I think the leaders all nine of us spoke with got that message," Schumer said.