US Official Sees India's Engineering Talent as Key to AI Partnership with America, Not Competition with China

A senior Trump administration official has said India is uniquely placed to collaborate with the United States in building a comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, emphasising the depth of India's engineering workforce as a strategic advantage.

Jacob Helberg, the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with NDTV. He said: 'India is the only country on earth that rivals China as far as the depth of its engineering talent pool. And so in that respect, it really does have unique advantages.'

Helberg's comments come amid growing strategic competition between the US and China. However, he stressed that the focus of US-India cooperation should be on building a positive technology partnership rather than merely countering Beijing. 'The US and India are going to work together on China by creating an AI developer ecosystem that is positive, something that is based on complementarity, and that really spans the full stack from minerals to magnets to models,' Helberg said.

The official's remarks underline the expanding cooperation between India and the United States in AI, semiconductors, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing. This broader technology partnership aims to build trusted supply chains and reduce dependence on China.

Earlier, speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit, Helberg described India as America's most important long-term technology partner. He argued that Washington wanted to work with New Delhi to build resilient AI supply chains and a shared developer ecosystem.

The partnership reflects a shift from viewing technology ties solely through the lens of competition to focusing on mutual benefits and complementarity. India's large pool of engineers is seen as a critical asset in developing next-generation AI systems and infrastructure.