New Delhi [India], August 28 (ANI): Former NITI Aayog CEO and India's ex-G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant has said that the latest tariff measures by US President Donald Trump should serve as a 'wake-up call' for India.

Taking to social media, Kant wrote, 'Trump's tariffs must be a wake-up call for India. The irony is striking: the U.S. is actively negotiating with Russia and China, the latter being the largest buyer of Russian oil, yet chooses to target India with tariffs instead. Let us be clear, this is not about Russian oil. It is about India's energy security and strategic autonomy, which we should never compromise.'

Kant said that India must stay firm on protecting its strategic interests while using the situation to push through crucial reforms.

'India has, on numerous occasions, refused to yield to global pressure. This moment should be no different. Rather than intimidate us, these global headwinds must galvanise India into bold, once-in-a-generation reforms, while also diversifying our export markets to secure long-term growth and resilience,' he concluded.

Earlier this month, speaking to ANI about India's trade relationship with China, Kant said that despite difficult political ties, India should aim at building joint ventures with Chinese companies rather than depending heavily on imports from China.

He explained, 'We do about 120 billion worth of imports from China. Despite having a very adverse relationship with Japan, China continued to maintain a very close economic relationship with Japan. China has a very adverse political relationship with Taiwan. Yet the biggest investors in China are Taiwan and the Taiwanese businessmen. To my mind, it is in our economic interest that instead of importing from China, we should get Chinese to do joint ventures with Indian companies on a minority stake and do manufacturing in India, and that will enable India to do both input manufacturing and component manufacturing and accelerate the process of Make in India and accelerate the process of Manufacture in India, and that to my mind is a long term answer to economic growth.'

On India's growth ambitions, Kant pointed to the larger economic vision. 'The key is how do we take India from a USD 4 trillion to a USD 35 trillion economy by the time we become 100? That's the vision of the Prime Minister. We need to provide momentum for growth. We need to grow at 8 to 9 per cent per annum, year after year. Instead of importing, we should focus on manufacturing in India with China. That will create jobs in India,' he said. (ANI)