Rubio, Asked About Dependence on China: "Don't Want to Rely 90% on Any Single Country"... Quad Summit "Probably in December"

MUMBAI, INDIA

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Mumbai, India, on the 22nd (local time), when asked how to reduce dependence on China, "I'm not singling out China," but added, "We don't want to depend on any single country in the world for 90 percent of anything that's critical to our economies." Secretary Rubio stated that a Quad leaders' summit would be held "probably in December at some point." The remarks came during an interview with Raj Chengappa of Indian media outlet India Today at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai, alongside U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. The U.S. Department of State released the full transcript of the interview.

Rubio Warns Against Supply Chains 90% Reliant on One Country, While Saying "I'm Not Singling Out China"

Chengappa asked how he sees the Quad evolving, "especially in the face of China's growing assertiveness." He then asked what more India and the United States could do to protect critical supply chains and reduce dependence on China.

Secretary Rubio first pointed to the Quad's accomplishments. Rubio said, "It's not just important that the four countries are coordinating with each other," noting that "results are beginning to emerge." As an example, he cited "maritime awareness – the ability to know what's happening under the water, threatening cables and so forth." Rubio said, "That's something the Quad is pursuing together, and real work is underway."

Turning to supply chains, Secretary Rubio said, "A consistent theme across the world, and particularly in U.S.-India relations, is that we do not want to be overly dependent on any country in the world." He immediately added, "I'm not singling out China. I'm saying any country in the world." Rubio said, "We don't want to depend on any single country in the world for 90 percent of anything that's critical to our economies," adding that "we must have domestic capabilities to do certain things on our own."

Secretary Rubio said this serves India's interests as well as "the interests of the United States under President Trump." As sectors where the two nations could mutually build domestic capabilities, he cited artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, biomedicine, and pharmaceuticals. "The list is endless," Rubio said, adding, "Critical minerals are, of course, what everyone is talking about."

The same logic applied to questions about energy. Secretary Rubio said, "You can't look at everything through the lens of just one country or one conflict," and regarding India's diversification of energy import sources, remarked, "Being overly reliant on one country over another is never desirable."

Quad Summit "Probably in December"... Stated "During Manila ASEAN Meeting" in Interview Two Days Prior

Regarding the schedule for a Quad summit, Secretary Rubio said, "We're going to have a leaders-level meeting very soon, probably in December at some point." Rubio stated, "We intend to organize more before President Trump's term ends," adding, "The president still has two and a half years left in his term."

Secretary Rubio shared that his very first meeting as Secretary of State was a Quad meeting. "Over the past year and a half, there have probably been more Quad foreign ministers' meetings than in the previous four years combined," Rubio said.

Two days earlier, on the 20th, during an interview with Indian broadcaster News18 at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, he gave a different timeframe. The interviewer noted, "A Quad summit hasn't been held since September 2024, and now it's India's turn to host," and asked whether President Trump would visit India. Secretary Rubio replied, "I hope the Quad summit will take place before the end of this year," adding, "It has been agreed to do so, and it was agreed to hold it in Manila during the ASEAN meeting." Rubio stated, "We don't have specific dates yet, but it will happen, and we're very excited about it," adding, "We look forward to being together at the leaders-level meeting held at ASEAN in a few weeks."

In the News18 interview, Secretary Rubio described the period immediately following his inauguration: "As soon as I took the oath of office, I went upstairs and had a meeting." He said there had been "seven or eight" Quad meetings since, and that another would take place "at the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta." Rubio added, "The Quad is not just a process of meeting and agreeing on something," saying, "We hope to announce concrete deliverables at the summit, rather than it just being a nice social gathering."

Ambassador Gor Cites Pax Silica, Defense Cooperation, Noting Trade Grew From $20 Billion to $240 Billion in 15 Years

Ambassador Gor said, "Bilateral trade is at an all-time high," adding, "Trade that was $20 billion 15 years ago is now $240 billion." Ambassador Gor noted that Essar is opening a multi-billion-dollar facility in the United States creating local jobs, and that President Trump recently hosted Essar in the Oval Office at the White House. "It's not a one-way street," Gor said.

Chengappa noted that India joined Pax Silica right after Ambassador Gor assumed his post, and asked whether India could expect U.S. investment and technology cooperation to become a key hub in strategic supply chains. Gor replied, "India was one of the first 10 countries invited by the United States to Pax Silica," adding, "That's because we trust India." Saying "that's why the Secretary comes here twice a year," Gor announced that the Attorney General would visit India in three weeks, and that a counternarcotics meeting would be held in Delhi, attended by the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Attorneys.

Pax Silica is an initiative promoted by the State Department as a "flagship effort for AI and supply chain security." The State Department's Pax Silica webpage lists "Reduce coercive dependencies" as a core pillar, and 24 entities, including the European Union (EU), are on the list of signatories. Alongside India, signatories include South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines. Taiwan is listed as a participant supporting the principles of the declaration through a separate joint statement. While the declaration cites "non-market policies and practices" and "overcapacity and unfair dumping" as issues, it does not name any specific country.

According to an Indian government announcement, India officially joined Pax Silica by holding a signing ceremony on February 20, the fifth day of the "India AI Impact Summit 2026." The announcement explained that Pax Silica aims to protect the "silicon stack" spanning critical minerals, semiconductor manufacturing, advanced AI systems, and deployment infrastructure, and to counter economic coercion. Indian Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, who attended the signing ceremony, said, "We are not just hosting a summit, we are building the future." Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology S. Krishnan cited "resilient cooperation with trusted partners who share values" as the goal, and Ambassador Gor called Pax Silica "a coalition that will define the economic and technological order of the 21st century." At the event, Jacob Helberg, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, said, "Global supply chains are massively overconcentrated," adding, "We say no to weaponized dependencies, and we say no to blackmail." Under Secretary Helberg described the declaration as "not just an agreement on paper, but a roadmap for a shared future." Without naming a country, Helberg said, "We have seen our friends denied essential minerals simply because a leader dared to speak their mind."

Regarding defense cooperation, Ambassador Gor said, "Lockheed is here, Boeing is here. Co-production is happening," adding, "Defense cooperation is at an all-time high." Ambassador Gor stated that in the past month alone, 500 U.S. Army troops participated in Exercise "Yudh Abhyas" in India, and during Exercise "Tarang Shakti," F-35s arrived in India for the first time to conduct joint exercises with the Indian armed forces. Gor called India "a very valued partner in the Quad" and said efforts are underway to arrange a meeting between leaders, including President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, "within the next month."

In the civil nuclear energy sector, Ambassador Gor assessed that the passage of the "SHANTI legislation" in India opened the door for small modular reactors (SMRs) and civilian technology. Gor said, "India is one of the first places the United States is considering for its first overseas SMR."