Power Play

India finds new challenges and opportunities in Sino-US tech war

India's size and tech talent base are a draw to US investors but structural economic shortcomings hold back its potential as an alternative to China. •Power Play is a weekly column that looks at various facets of US-China rivalry and its implications for Asia.

ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO
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NEW DELHI • When the Indian government released its list of companies allowed to conduct much-delayed 5G trials over a period of six months, the news was not in the names of the firms that it chose but in the ones it did not.

Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE were not banned but did not make it to the approved list of telecommunications firms which included South Korea's Samsung and Finland's Nokia.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 17, 2021, with the headline India finds new challenges and opportunities in Sino-US tech war. Subscribe