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China vs India: Where China Beats India and Why
As the 21st century completes its first decade, the faculties of the world are looking upon the creation of a new order in the world economy. While the West is rediscovering itself, the East is finding its pace and space. The masters are coming to the fore, the followers are falling in line and a very significant equation here is the Indo – China chemistry that is crucial to world economy in many ways. Surely, when the race will determine the supreme and the second, neither India nor China would want to accept a succeeding position and this is why the entire world is anticipating who will win this chase for supremacy—the tiger or the dragon? Indeed, till recent times, I was of the opinion that India is better poised to overtake its Eastern neighbor and become the superpower in the Asian continent. But sometimes, more than spirit and enthusiasm, the statistical facts decide the most probable outcome and that is why I decided to find out the answer to where China really scores over India and why. Critically looking at one’s own country is not always an easy job; however, it is essential that we know our weaknesses while we focus on our strengths. Thus, finding out the facts was slightly difficult for me as an Indian. However, when I finished my search, I had the answer and it goes this way. When I began, I thought that probably the Olympics is the only area where China outshines India. The fact sheet however turned out to be quite different; there are many areas where China is truly ahead of India, the most prominent being the GDP. Yes, India has been steadily maintaining its GDP graph; yet, it lags behind China which is already at the 4th position following the United States, Japan and Germany. India however is at the 12th position as per the statistics for the year 2008. Now it is evident that no matter how accelerated India’s growth might be, it will be difficult to get into the top 3 or top 5 slots at least in the near future. Infrastructure comes second; in this, India and China both have their pros and cons. However, from a generic view point, China has much better infrastructure. Both the countries are huge and have much of its area under the rural tag; China though has more uniform and international standard infrastructure compared to India, where high paradoxes prevail even in the metros. Be it ports, airports, railways or roads, China outscores India with its world class systems and structures. The estimated infrastructure investment in China is 45% of GDP, while in India it is only 34% of the GDP. Thus, with the investment figures, it becomes clear that even for the future, China will score over India in terms of infrastructure. Next comes the Forex reserves which truly decide a country’s international economic rating. Here, China has a very clear margin having an astounding 1,400 $ billion of Forex reserves compared to India’s meager reserves of 220 $ billion. This leap is again reinforced by the facts for gold consumption and gold reserves in both the countries. While India had a higher rate of gold consumption till now, the trend is fast tilting towards the oriental giant. And to add to the gap, India’s gold reserves do not match the gold reserves of China. Another area where the dragon leads is population control. This seems to be a very crucial parameter. Population control will decide and change many things in the future and the country which has a stride in its favor in this area might as well take home many more points in other areas as well—the most immediate being health, education and employment. According to estimates, population control measures will show their results in the coming decades and for the year 2050, the figures might come close to 1,563 million for India and 1,392 million for China. A difference of almost 200 million, this will definitely give China an upper hand. China also beats India in manufacturing and exports though in manufacturing, China’s overall position is only statistically good and many industry leaders are in favor of India for its value and quality in products as well as services. For exports, China seems to have a clear margin because of its well developed port infrastructure which has not yet been fully exploited in India, partly because of infrastructure and partly because of constraints in international trade policies. But here, there seems hope for India to make a shift as the SEZ fever catches up with both government and the private sector. Its result may be visible in the near future. Other than these obvious sectors, a little unfamiliar yet important area where China beats India is patents. China is not generally looked upon as a think tank, yet the figures for patent applications reflect that India should gear up to claim its supremacy, at least where knowledge and research is concerned. According to reports from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the patent applications from India in the year 2008 were about 766, whereas for China the figures were eight times higher, close to 6089. This fact, when researched further, showed some grey areas as well, like the contribution of many MNCs having their R&D hub in China and India’s passive attitude in this area. Moreover, as most of the Indian talent migrates, the real intellectual capacity of India does not come forth in figures, despite the known fact that India produces high caliber engineers and scientists. India did make a good position of being the third largest patent applicant among developing nations. But it is still beaten by China at the second position and the Republic of Korea takes away the gold medal here! There are many other areas where China’s statistics are positively ahead of India, like education, defense and investments. So, from a 360 degree perspective, China does beat India especially in core economic terms. After I ended my research on the areas where China beats India, I decided to find out why the statistics favored China and not India. And the answer I got justifies India’s position and highlights India’s efforts in gaining momentum. The first reason why China gains and India loses is China’s free country status for all these centuries. India has been in bondage for centuries and though we might not be able to see its relevance or impact, 200 years of foreign rule does change a lot of things for better or worse and the same has happened to India. The second reason is the size; very few countries in the world have defied the fundamental truth that bigger is better. Not every country is Japan and thus the overall size of China in geographic as well as economic terms does make it more powerful when compared to India. Besides this, the not so foolproof and at times restrictive policies and strategies of the Indian Government have also been responsible for hampering economic progress. The remedy for India to cure the ailment of being second to China is to look at growth from all aspects and have a flexible, more open, yet protective attitude to identify, capitalize and exploit growth opportunities. If China has some good scores it also has its share of weaknesses, the most deterring one being the communist atmosphere of the country. Other areas where India has a very strong and clear edge are the cultural barrier between the Oriental and Western world and the not so bright image at the political level. India’s clean political image and democracy brings credibility. Its myriad culture blends traditional values and a Western outlook, making it popular. Its originality and innovative thinking make it a good player and its ability to adapt and absorb makes it a good partner. Thus, there are dark clouds on both sides and yet, each has its silver lining too. China has reserves; India has the soft power of positive influence. So when looked upon from a holistic view, the comparison seems futile and each country has its own special place on the world map. The statistics are in favor of China and the astrologers claim that India still has time before the 21st century ends. Thus, there is a long way to go and anything can turn the situation in India’s favor! But looking at the significance of both the countries and their contribution to development in Asia, a healthy competition between the two neighbors will benefit both the participants. If both can make efforts to smoothen out political creases, the people of the largest country and the largest democracy will thrive together and that will perhaps be the most gratifying result. Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
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