During a virtual press conference in New Delhi, the Australian special trade envoy said that India has democracy, the rule of law and a good understanding of business.

"As an Australian, we have seen the weaponisation of trade. Something like 20 billion dollars worth of Australian trade has been disrupted or suspended by China. It is very difficult to see China as a trusted partner," Abbott was quoted as saying by ANI.

"India is in a very very different situation, the democracy, the rule of law, a good understanding that business and governments are substantially independent of each other and that the sanctity of contract has to be respected. So this is why I think the difficulties with China, certainly mean that India has quite a unique opportunity to stay particularly with the supply chain that you know needs to be absolutely reliable," he added.