First choice for companies moving supply chain out of China will be SE Asia not India, says Paul Krugman

US lawmakers are close to finalizing a $900 billion economic relief package that will support small businesses, unemployed Americans, those into critical care and vaccinations. President-elect Joe Biden, who is busy chalking out his COVID-19 response and economic recovery plan, has a challenging task at hand.

Moreover, the chair of the US Federal Reserve has expressed concerns about the surge in infections and has advised Americans to take all health precautions. This is coupled with the Fed's expectation of a 4.2 percent GDP growth in 2021.

The world will be closely watching all moves of Biden's economic team and how he approaches the trade war with China.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18's Parikshit Luthra, Nobel Laureate Economist and New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman said, "US and actually the world has real problems with China. China has become, by some measures the world's largest economy but still behaves as if it was an upstart. So it makes sense to have some confrontation with China but not the one that Trump had."

He added, "India's forte has been service exports and the first choice of somebody seeking to move part of the supply chain out of China, it is probably going to be South East Asia rather than India. India is a potential player in service trade and service trade is much less affected by the trade."

Next, Luthra gets in conversation with Israeli envoy to India Ron Malka, who shares his views on Israel-Bhutan diplomatic relations.