Vivek Ramaswamy calls for declaring economic independence from China

Washington: Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has called for declaring "economic independence" from China, for which he proposed a slew of measures including an expanded relationship with countries like India.

In a major foreign policy speech in his home state Ohio on Thursday, Ramaswamy also underlined the need to move away from Chinese-controlled pharmaceutical supply chains and increase military spending.

"What we are laying out here is a clear and pragmatic vision for how we will actually, finally at long last declare economic independence from China while actually advancing American prosperity at home," the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur said.

"I will not sell you a fake vision of onshoring everything immediately. That's not going to happen if we are serious about decoupling from China. It will also require expanded relationships with India, Israel and Brazil," said Ramaswamy, whose popularity has been on the rise since his impressive performance at the first Republican presidential primary debate last month.

Ramaswamy said if he is elected president of the country in November 2024, his policy of declaring independence from China will have four elements. This includes declaring "independence from the climate change agenda" that Ramaswamy described as a "farce" and "hoax".

He said that he would also achieve economic independence from Taiwan by increasing production of US semiconductors, the "little chips" that power phones, satellite systems, medical devices and other communication devices.

He called for increasing military spending to "defend our own homeland," and move away from Chinese-controlled pharmaceutical supply chains out of concern that China "could lace our legal pharmaceutical supply chain with poison, including fentanyl".

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Ramaswamy said, builds a great wall that stops one from entering the Chinese market if you criticise the CCP but they will roll out the red carpet if one criticises the United States.

"Take BlackRock, the first asset manager ever to be granted the right to sell mutual funds as a foreign asset manager in China. How did they get it? It was only after BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink lobbied in the United States for lowered listing standards for Chinese companies in the US," he claimed.

Ramaswamy said he is focused on declaring economic independence from China.

"This is what the US president can do. Keep us out of World War III, revive national pride, unlock the regulations that hold our economy back under the executive branch," he said.

The mistake most presidents make is focusing on the legislative agenda first, he said. Former president Donald Trump promised to repeal and replace Obamacare but it did not happen, Ramaswamy said.

"It is a false promise if it's contingent on Congress. So, everything I'm telling you, we're going to get done. We're actually going to get done because I don't need to ask Congress for permission or for forgiveness," he asserted.