India And China Must Find A Way To Work Together
Despite being neighbors, India and China haven’t always shared the best of relations. But in recent times, the need has arisen for these two Asian giants to collaborate if either of them will survive the wave of changes facing the new world order.
The changing face of the world
The world is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Technology advances have shrunk the need for manual labor. On the whole, manufacturing is a shrinking industry. Investors are losing confidence in the market. Shrinking natural resources have pushed even the oil-rich middle east to look elsewhere for profits. The majority of the world is suffering from an aging population with not enough resources to support them. There are both traditional and non-traditional security threats and the global power clubs are seeing a fracture. The rise of nationalism and regionalism is proving to be a serious handicap in economic growth.
Growing challenges to export for India
Growing protectionism among countries has led to a fall in export as seen in the case of India’s export to the US. Pharmaceutical sales are failing to make a dent in many countries including the Chinese market which prefers homegrown drugs to foreign ones. Cheaper imports from China threaten homegrown produce in India. The movement of talent from India to abroad has left a vacuum. Amidst all this, the US-China trade war has left a sore taste. On the other hand, China’s economy is rising rapidly, to a big part due to its geostrategic landscape. Despite that, even China, along with the rest of the world is facing a slowdown in economic growth.
India and China bilateral trade
India and China have a bilateral trade of $95 billion approx. As India faces a huge trade imbalance, it may be time to consider a new Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Policy. India and China are in a unique position to shape their economies from scratch. As the most favored nation era draws to a close, India and China, as members of a multitude of multinational trade groups, can work together in strengthening the World Trade Organisation and use it to their own advantages. We have already seen a spurt of Chinese investments (FDI) in India. By being a little more openminded towards the Chinese, we can use their goodwill in socially and economically uplifting projects such as “Smart Cities Mission” and “Skill India”.
Way Forward
Any country that wants to progress must make policies and progammes that maximize their economic opportunities. China is the world’s second-largest economy. India will be wise to use them. There is a need for India to enhance our ability to share knowledge and information. The rise of Asia is based on stability in the region and cooperation among the nations. As pillars of the community, India and China cannot afford to ignore each other. Any step towards progress must be taken together.
Topics: GS-II: Bilateral Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements