More India And Less China by Urs Schoettli

Author:Urs Schoettli
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-3-89684-379-1
Publisher: Körber-Stiftung, Hamburg 2012

Business and Finances

The advocates of “More India and less China” will find it most difficult to make their case when it comes to business and the economy. The facts speak for themselves, and China is so far in the lead that it hardly seems to make much sense to put in a word for India. Of course, the one-sided preference for China also has certain geopolitical ramifications. If a country possesses great economic power, it will also be taken seriously in political terms. Over the last fifteen years this state of affairs has shaped the foreign policy priorities of most of the European states, and especially those of Germany. China is perceived to be the rising power which will one day be competing with the US for a place at the tip of the global pyramid. Some strategists even think that China stands a good chance of supplanting the US at the very top. To what extent this is realistic in view of the numerous Chinese weaknesses is a moot point. In this context it needs to be remembered that for geopolitical reasons India, as we have pointed out, will never come into question for the top-notch position, though as the predominant power in the greater Indian Ocean area, which is also very important for Europe in strategic and economic terms, it is crucial to the geopolitics of the 21 st century.

But let us return to the economy. When we start to compare India and China, the superficial facts are not the only things that matter. It seems advisable to examine the background more carefully, and in particular to take into account certain long-term perspectives. In general terms, over the past few years I have had the impression that, whilst China’s economy gets very good marks, and frequently the benefit of the doubt, India suffers from a stigma, which means that it gets bad marks from the outset. Yet economic decisions should surely be made on a rational basis without fear or favour.

Thus if one is going to get embroiled in a debate on the notion of “More India and less China” as it pertains to the business world, one must first of all call into question some of the entrenched stereotypes about the Indian economy. At least I have the feeling that in recent years India has made up for lost ground in that a number of important economic actors have upgraded their assessment of its economic strength and have backed this up with appropriate investments. In this context I am thinking of the Japanese and South Korean automotive industry, and of the Swiss cement company Holcim, which has invested several billion dollars in India. This has recently become apparent in the case of Japan, where the export industry has concluded that India is a new El Dorado.

Comparisons between countries with different cultures and different histories are always problematical. This is certainly bound to be the case if one compares two unparalleled high civilizations such as India and China.

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