According to the report, Jaishankar also referred to the economic dimensions of the relationship, noting that China had industrialised earlier and on a much larger scale than India.
He said India had missed opportunities to deepen manufacturing and industrialisation over several decades and would now have to make up for those shortcomings.
“A stronger, a more ‘Atma-Nirbhar’ India, a more industrialised India, a stronger and a more manufacturing India will be able to actually compete with China as it will with other major countries of the world,” he said.
Jaishankar added that India had raised with China issues concerning businessmen facing visa-related difficulties.
On US-China relations, which are sometimes described as a potential “G2”, Jaishankar urged caution in viewing the relationship in such binary terms.
He described the US-China relationship as fundamentally competitive but said the two countries could also cooperate on certain issues and remain indifferent to each other in some sectors.
“It is not that they will compete on every issue in every geography in every time frame. So it’s a very complicated relationship as is natural,” he said.
For India, Jaishankar said, the guiding principle would remain national interest.
“It’s a relationship which we will monitor and assess from the manner in which it serves us best,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
