The United States will strengthen its technological ties with India, but does not want to be separated from China, Raimondo said.

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The U.S. government is not seeking a “departure” from China, or a “technological solution,” but Washington “wants to see India achieve its ambitions to play a major role in the electronics supply chain,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Friday.

For its part, the United States signed a memorandum of understanding with India on Friday to cooperate in the semiconductor sector.

The department oversees nearly $52 billion in investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry, which said the semiconductor industries in both countries are beginning to assess resilience and gaps in supply chain networks.

“You don’t have to believe me when I say it’s a relationship and it’s very nice that the US government is leaning towards this relationship with the Indian government… Ten top executives from the US have come here and pledged. Doing more business in India… I think it’s a testament,” she said at a press conference in New Delhi. She told reporters.

India, the world’s second most populous country, plays a key role in the ever-changing geopolitical relationship between many superpowers. US policymakers are increasingly concerned about reducing its dependence on China, where the US is holding strategic talks with Japan and Australia through the Quad Group on cooperation with India.

But as India and the US strengthen their technology ties, Washington is not looking to end its dependence on China, she said. “We see India as a reliable technology partner and we want to strengthen our technology relationship with India. But I want to make it clear that the United States does not want to separate from China.”

What we want to do is some of the technologies that the United States is ahead of and China’s clear strategy is to have these technologies and deploy them in China’s military equipment, these are the technologies that we have used export controls to block sales to China. . So we enjoy trade with China. Most trade with China is in safe commodities and will continue to do so.

The close relationship with India is not about severing it, but “we have to keep our eyes open to the fact that China is trying to acquire US technologies for military use and protect ourselves and our allies and partners,” she added.

The partnership comes as India aggressively offers $10 billion in incentives to win manufacturing projects from global chip companies. New Delhi has managed to attract a number of companies to expand their presence in India, but many industry leaders, including Intel and TSMC, have failed to make a wider play.