The race between two Asian giants.

The two Asian giants, China and India, will shape Asia in the next decade, but likely in wary opposition to one another.

The United Nations Population Survey estimated that China would not be the most populous country. Instead, India will be the most populated nation.
It’s a rare example of a global ranking where India sits higher than China.
China has another number 2 ranking as the second largest economy in the world. It is not second to India but to the U.S.

India:
India had become the first major British colony to gain freedom, and its new leader, Jawaharlal Nehru, saw the fate of India as important not only for his country’s own people but also for the other, still colonised peoples of Asia.
Although the violence of Partition cast a bloody cloud across the landscape, the establishment of India as a multi party electoral democracy with a free media was a foundation stone of secular politics.
India was one of the founding members of the United Nations, joining in 1945.
China:
China had fought Japan during World War II but was then plunged into a civil war between the ruling Nationalists of Chiang Kaishek and the Communists under Mao Zedong.
Mao’s victory saw the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which leaned heavily on the Soviet Union for its economic model.
China was kept out of the United Nations for another two decades and did not open diplomatic relations with the U.S. for three.

By the 1990s, India opened up its economy in various ways, which created a new class of millionaires as well as increased inequality
China began in the 1970s, allowing the development of a market economy. It gave importance to the private sector and gave it space to develop within a framework controlled by the party.
Geopolitical tensions:
Both India and China abstained at the United Nations meetings this year rather than condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Climate change:
Both India and China are nervous about climate change commitments that may hamper their growth.

Stress on education:
The public expenditure on education in China amounted to around 4.22 per cent of national GDP
China has a group of institutions in the top tier, many more than India.
China should follow India:

Political system:
In China, in the last few years, technology entrepreneurs, academics and lawyers have all become victims of political crackdowns by the party, which is concerned about any voices that do not simply follow the line sent down by China.
India has long had a pluralist system with a variety of voices, the flexibility and capacity to change, etc..

Find new friends:
On the international stage, both countries need to think about where they can find new friends.
In the case of India, there are plenty of suitors, as the establishment of the Quad naval agreement with the U.S., Australia, and Japan suggests.
The growing strength of China:
The growing strength of China has become a source of alarm for India.
Russia and China have closer contact:
Right from the post-independence period, Russia (and the erstwhile USSR) has been an all-weather ally for India.
This year, Russia and China declared a “friendship without limits,” putting a challenge to the India-Russia relationship.

Pic Courtesy: India TV news

Content Source: The Hindu