New Delhi, Jun 20 (IANS): Advising against boycott of Chinese goods, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday stressed that India needs to become self-reliant as much as possible but without decoupling from the rest of the world.

"We should not bring up issues like boycott (of Chinese products0 when we are discussing very grave matters like the defence of India," the Congress leader told the media through videoconference here.

The Congress leader pointed out that boycott of Chinese goods by Indians will not hurt the communist country's economy. "What part of Chinese trade with India is China's world trade? It's a fraction."

Chidambaram said that India must continue to be part of the global supply chain.

The former Union Minister was responding to a question on the growing demand for boycott of Chinese products in the wake of the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Ladakh's Galwan Valley by Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday night.