Raja Calls For Stronger India-US Partnership To Counter China
WASHINGTON, DC -Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said India and the United States must deepen cooperation to address the challenge posed by China, calling for closer collaboration in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, clean energy and security.
“I think India, like the United States, needs to step up to the challenge. It’s not doing enough. It can do more,” Krishnamoorthi said, describing strategic competition with China as the defining test facing both democracies.
“The China challenge is the defining challenge of our time,” he said. “The question is, are we going to rise to the occasion and be the best version of ourselves as a country? Right now, we are not.”
Krishnamoorthi said emerging technologies should be a major focus of India-US cooperation, identifying fusion energy, solar power, quantum technology and artificial intelligence as key areas for collaboration.
“I think technology’s the future,” he said. “I think we should work together on technologies of the future, whether it’s fusion, whether it’s solar, whether it’s quantum, whether it’s artificial intelligence, whether it’s on security issues.”
The congressman said both countries must also strengthen their democracies by reducing internal divisions and discrimination.
“We have to do everything we can to reduce division, reduce any form of discrimination toward anybody, anywhere,” he said. “And if we can do that, then I have no doubt that we will succeed.”
Addressing concerns about alleged Chinese influence in the United States, Krishnamoorthi said there was no evidence that Beijing had interfered with the counting or tabulation of votes.
“They considered it, but they didn’t do it,” he said. “That being said, it’s always a concern.”
He added that Chinese influence operations often occur through more subtle means, including social media campaigns and efforts to shape the views of opinion leaders at the local level.
Krishnamoorthi also linked U.S. competitiveness with China to immigration policy, criticizing the uncertainty faced by H-1B visa holders, many of whom are Indian professionals, and calling for faster processing of employment-based green cards.
“For the million people who’ve been waiting patiently in queue to get their green card, we should do everything we can to expedite this process, especially for those people who’ve been here for decades,” he said.
While acknowledging that reforms to the immigration system may be necessary, he said they should be pursued on a bipartisan basis. Long-term visa holders, he added, have the potential to create businesses, generate jobs and develop technologies that strengthen the U.S. economy.
Krishnamoorthi has been a leading congressional voice on U.S. technology policy and strategic competition with China. (IANS)
