Uday Kotak, Founder & Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, on Tuesday said India should remain open to Chinese investment and manufacturing partnerships, arguing that the country must diversify its sources of capital beyond the West as global trade tensions and shifting geopolitical relationships reshape investment flows.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026 in New Delhi, Kotak said joint ventures between Indian and Chinese companies could provide a path for expanding domestic manufacturing, drawing parallels with China's earlier strategy of partnering with American companies.
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"I think for India, if you can't beat them, join them, and we need to be open. And I think we're seeing early signs of that in India, where Indian companies are partnering with Chinese companies for Make in India, and the Chinese companies are welcome," Kotak said.
His remarks come against the backdrop of changing global trade relationships, with tariffs, investment restrictions and supply-chain concerns increasingly influencing where companies manufacture and deploy capital.
Kotak pointed to partnerships involving Chinese automaker SAIC Motor's MG brand and appliance maker Haier as examples of cooperation between Indian and Chinese businesses.
"If there are joint ventures between Chinese and Indian companies for manufacturing in India, the game China played with the U.S. many years ago, that could be a path forward for India, and India has to keep its optionality open," he said.
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Kotak also questioned India's historical reliance on Western investment, suggesting that changing economic relationships, particularly with the United States, had made it necessary to explore alternative sources of capital.
"Historically, India has looked too much to the West for investment, but with the challenges, particularly from the United States, and an overall more transactional approach to investment, the time has come for India to keep all its options open," he said.
He added that the increasing use of tariffs as an instrument of economic policy could encourage Chinese companies to consider investing directly in domestic manufacturing operations in other markets.
"I think in a world where tariffs are a weapon, Chinese strategics may be more open to actually coming and investing in local domestic situations," Kotak said.