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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to supporters as he arrives at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City, June 20, 2023.
Fresh Mike | Reuters
With China’s economy faltering, top US corporate executives are making it a priority to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit to the White House, including Thursday dinner.
apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella fedex Chief Executive Raj Subramaniam will be among several US CEOs who will attend the White House dinner on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The state dinner is a first for India and New Delhi considers it a coup.
“The opportunity is huge. The administration is doing everything it can to give the prime minister a welcome close to the royal family,” Frank Wisner, a former US ambassador to India, told CNBC.
Other companies with a large footprint in India will also send their CEOs, incl MarriottTony Capuano W cuminJennifer Rumsey, according to multiple sources.
The biggest deal to be announced will be General Electric It has been involved in the production of military jet engines in India along with the Hindustan Aeronautics Corporation.
“Strengthening defense and security relations between the United States and India is likely to be a major outcome of the trip, particularly on issues of critical technology sharing and intellectual property for defense equipment,” said Safia Guri-Ahmed of the Atlantic Council and formerly of Senate Foreign Relations. CNBC Commission.
Separately, CNBC has learned that General Atomics is close to a deal to sell new drones to New Delhi at a time when the country is trying to beef up its security.
Modi’s arrival in the United States follows a high-level meeting in China between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday in an effort to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies. China is one of the agenda items when Modi meets Biden and US executives on Thursday and Friday.
“The United States and India share a common interest in managing the rise of Chinese power,” Wisner said.
A separate Modi meeting with tech leaders is also in the works on Friday, where technology transfer and finding ways to diversify away from China will be discussed, according to multiple sources.
With the Chinese economy slowing and political tensions rising, American companies have taken steps to diversify away from the country. Apple opened two retail stores in India earlier this year after moving some iPhone production to the country. CNBC previously reported that Apple is also looking to move some of its iPad production from China to India, though unskilled labor and poor infrastructure present challenges for US companies that want to expand their business there.
Sources close to Modi say the Indian leader hopes to ease those concerns and see more US companies commit to manufacturing there as well. It is said that Modi met Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday to discuss opening a factory in the country as well, sources previously told CNBC.
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