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US Senator Steve Daines said he leaves his phone behind when visiting China but carries it to India, using the contrast to highlight trust between the two democracies. He urged Washington to deepen ties with New Delhi to counter China's growing influence and innovation ecosystem.
Phone stays home for China, travels to India: US senator Steve Daines on trust gap
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 1, 2026 14:26 IST
US Senator Steve Daines on Tuesday drew a contrast between how he approaches visits to China and India, saying he leaves his phone behind in Washington when travelling to Beijing because of trust concerns, but carries it with him when he travels to Delhi or elsewhere in India.
Speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit in Washington, the Republican Senator from Montana used the example to argue that the United States should deepen its strategic partnership with India as it deals with the challenge posed by China.
Daines said the United States could not completely disengage from China and should instead focus on reducing strategic risks while strengthening ties with trusted countries. He said India was central to that approach, and added that the India-US relationship matters not only to the two countries but also to the wider world.
"When I travel to China, this phone does not go to Beijing with me. It stays on my desk in Washington DC. When I travel to Delhi or anywhere in India, this one is with me," Daines said, as reported by news agency ANI.
He said the example showed what he described as the high level of trust between India and the United States. "We need a high-trust counterpoint as we think about what's going on with China," he said.
In fact, this distrust was evident during US President Donald Trump's recent visit to China, when he and his team left behind all Chinese gifts and souvenirs before boarding their flight back to Washington, DC, as previous US delegations have also done.
The Senator further said Washington needed to think more clearly about the partnerships it should build as it responds to China. "We can't disengage from China. We need to engage, we need to de-risk," he said, before asking what proactive steps the United States should take to build stronger strategic partnerships.
According to Daines, the answer lies in India.
Daines said India was the only country that could match China at scale when working with the United States. "There's only one country in the world that can match the size and scale of China's innovation ecosystem, and it's India working with the United States," he said, reported ANI.
He added that an India-US partnership was the only realistic way to build the scale required to compete globally.
"The only hope we have thinking about globally to compete with that, to build the scale, is going to be India plus the United States," he said.
During a conversation with FedEx President and Chief Executive Officer Raj Subramaniam, Daines also said Washington often spoke about the challenge from China without fully working out which relationships needed to be strengthened as a counterbalance.
"We talk a lot here in Washington about the challenge with China, but have not really thought through a strategy for, okay, what do we need to do going forward? What relationship needs to strengthen here as that counterbalance," he said.
Daines said the relationship between India and the United States was significant beyond bilateral ties. "The relationship that we have between the United States and India is not only important for our two countries. I think it's important for the world," he said.
The remarks came as he received the USISPF Public Service Award for his efforts to strengthen India-US ties. US Senator Mark Warner, who was also selected for the honour, could not attend the event.
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Published By:
Sayan Ganguly
Published On:
Jul 1, 2026 14:26 IST
