China and India coming together can be an unbelievable powerhouse, says Jim Rogers

For the first time, India’s government is interested in success, people making money and capitalism, but the country must help its farmers, ace American investor and chairman of Beeland Interests, James Beeland Rogers, popularly known as Jim Rogers has said. 

Rogers also said that India and China coming together will be an “unbelievable powerhouse” that the most developed countries of the world will also find difficult to compete with. 

Taking a view of Indian equities, Rogers, who has been a long-time observer of the country, said India has been making a new all-time high and market participants are having a good time. 

“India has been making a new all-time high, as you well know, and I will say, I’ve been watching India for at least 50 years, this is the first time in my lifetime that I have the feeling that Delhi, that the government is interested in success, in profits, and in people making money, and in capitalism,” Rogers told Invezz in an interaction.

“All of my life, India has been anti-capitalist, anti-profits, anti-success, but now something seems to have happened, and India understands. It can be very, very exciting, if they do.”

The Indian stock market has been seeing some new highs. The India benchmark index for the stock market BSE Sensex had the second largest rise of 24.85% during the span of five years in FY24- a growth rate that outpaced many global counterparts.

This year, year to date, the benchmark has increased by close to 11%. 

India must do more for its farmers

However, Roger expressed the need for the government to do more for the country’s farmers. 

In India, agriculture is very controlled and regulated. If they make things easier for farmers…India has at times in history been a huge agricultural country. It has great agricultural success. You can be against, you will be against, but you have to help the farmers

You shouldn’t help the bureaucrats, you should help the farmers. At one time, it was illegal for Indian farmers to own more than five hectares. And Delhi said, we’re trying to help the farmers. We’re protecting the farmers. Well, I don’t think the farmers thought that was helping them.

On India-China coming together

In a significant statement, Rogers also said that if China and India started working together, they will be an “unbelievable powerhouse”. 

Sometimes I wonder if China and India are really working together someday. Wow. Nobody will be able to compete with them. Not the United States, not Japan, certainly not Russia, not Germany. China and India together, I mean, really working together, will be an unbelievable powerhouse. 

India’s ties with China have deteriorated after the Galwan clashes in 2020 saw the Chinese military kill 20 Indian soldiers. This added to India’s long-term wariness of China’s growing ties with Pakistan.

Post 2020, India has tried adapted a hostile economic stance towards China, banning over 200 Chinese mobile applications like TikTok and others, and tightening FDI rules aimed to discourage China. 

However, the pre-budget Economic Survey released last month argued for seeking foreign direct investments (FDI) from Beijing to enhance local manufacturing and tap into the export market.

It reasoned that focussing on FDI from China seemed promising for boosting India’s exports to the US and Europe as these countries increasingly shifted their supply chains away from China. The survey recommendations are not binding on the government though.

However, Indian government officials post the budget have maintained that the country’s stance regarding Chinese FDI remains unchanged in that it will be monitored on a case-to-case basis and any Chinese investment will be required to go through all the necessary checks.

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