Vietnam more viable than India in China+1 strategy? FM Sitharaman says they have 'advantages'

Even as India attempts to up its manufacturing prowess to emerge as an alternative to companies looking away from China to diversify their operations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it is difficult to say that measures under Modi government hasn't worked.

On being quizzed on if Vietnam is benefitting more from China Plus One strategy, Sitharaman told The Economic Times that Vietnam has had certain advantages such as border sharing with China. “I don’t think we can conclude that it has not worked for us. There are advantages that Vietnam has had since some time and being contiguous to Chinese territory can also be one advantage that they had over us,” Sitharaman said.

Apart from geographical advantages, Vietnam has also emerged as one of the major benefactors of the China Plus One strategy because of its 20 per cent corporate tax rate and its export-oriented economic growth model. India, on the other hand, in the Union Budget 2024 slashed its corporate tax rate for foreign companies to 35 percent from the erstwhile 40 percent in an attempt to attract more investments.


Sitharaman noted that one example of India’s success with the China Plus One policy has been in the smartphone manufacturing area. India's phone assembling and manufacturing industry has seen large investments from global industry giants such as Apple and Samsung, owing to the push provided through the Modi government's flagship Production-linked Incentive Scheme.