HOW TO DISTANCE FROM CHINA
UNTIL RECENTLY, I had argued that while India should negotiate hard to get the best deal possible, its end goal should be to sign on to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) consisting of India, China and 14 other Asian counties. The economic argument was sound.
The RCEP represents a vast market and India has low wages. Therefore, barrier-free trade within this market made India a very attractive destination for multinational enterprises currently operating in other RCEP countries but looking for an alternative location. Given its own fragmented goods and factor markets and concentration of workforce in either self-employment or tiny enterprises, the benefits from having multinationals move to India, especially
