Noted economist and former Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Wednesday said India must resolve border issues with China before joining Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
"I was very enthusiastic that India should go for the RCEP, but there has been a problem at the border. For those geopolitical reasons which have the potential to eventually spill over into the economic arena as well, I have changed my mind. So, I am no longer as enthusiastic for India to join in. I think geopolitically we cannot trust China the way I thought we could and so that has led me to have some refrain," he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18."
"If we are hoping to bring in a lot of the multinational companies that are currently operative in China, but want to diversify elsewhere and to our shores, then having access to this large market is a huge plus," he added.
(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)
First Published: Nov 18, 2020 7:53 PM IST