Senators John Cornyn (R., Texas) and Mark Warner (D., Va.) spoke on Tuesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about the potential for U.S.–Indian relations ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit next week. Both senators believe that a shared adversary, China, could bring the two countries closer together. Warner noted that China has more troops on the Indian border than Russia used to invade Ukraine, and an Indian official told him that China was the country’s biggest challenge. Cornyn sees potential for U.S. cooperation with India on defense given their shared concerns about China’s increasing influence over commerce.
The senators are cochairmen of the Senate India Caucus, which was founded by Cornyn and then-senator Hillary Clinton in 2004. They expressed concerns with some aspects of Indian policy, including India’s passivity when Russia invaded Ukraine and recent actions taken against some Congress Party leaders. Despite these challenges, both senators are optimistic about the future and the potential for closer relations and greater prosperity. They noted that India is projected to be the fastest-growing major economy in the next few years and is becoming more important to U.S. commercial and political interests.
India has set the goal of becoming a high-income economy by 2047, which would require significant economic reforms. Despite major market reforms in the early 1990s, India still suffers from the “regulatory cholesterol” of its socialist past, low levels of education, and low labor productivity. However, the decline in multidimensional poverty from 55.1 percent in 2005 to 16.4 percent in 2021 is a positive sign.
Americans are seeing some of the early signs of India’s increased global cultural presence, including the success of the Telugu-language film RRR and India’s leadership in digital-payments technology. The senators emphasized that significant challenges remain, but the potential for growth and closer relations is enormous.
