The US would not settle for a second place in a world where countries like India and China are pacing ahead, trying to out-compete America in jobs, clean energy and education, President Barack Obama has said.

“Right now, countries like China and India and South Korea and Germany, they are fighting as hard as they can for the jobs of the future,” Obama said in his remarks at a luncheon for Senator Patty Murray in Seattle.

“They’re trying to out-compete us when it comes to clean energy. They’re trying to out-compete us when it comes to producing engineers and scientists. And frankly, in some cases, they’ve been catching up and even propelling forward ahead of us,” he said.

He said the US will rebuild its economy stronger than ever before with the slogan ‘Made In America’ at the root of the rebuilding efforts.

“The United States does not play for second place. We play for first,” Obama said.

He said instead of giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas, his government would like to cut taxes for companies that create jobs in the US.

“We want to give tax cuts to small business owners. We want to give tax breaks to clean energy companies,” he said.

The President said instead of prolonging an addiction to oil, the country would jumpstart a homegrown energy industry.

“I don’t want to see solar panels and wind turbines and advanced batteries and electric cars manufactured in Europe or Asia. I want to see them made right here in the United States of America, by American workers,” he said.

The United States needs 21st century infrastructure – not just roads and bridges, but faster Internet access and high-speed rail – projects that can lead to hundreds of thousands of new, private sector jobs, he argued.