Reports say India passing China, but two countries seen at different development stages
Global Times
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A vendor sells vegetables at a market in Rajasthan, India, on Saturday. Photo: VCG

Overseas media reports have claimed that India has surpassed China as the world's fastest-growing economy. 

The Indian economy grew at 7.2 percent from October to December in 2017, making it the world's fastest-growing economy, according to a statement published by India's Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Wednesday. 

Reports on Wednesday by CNN Money and the Financial Times both talked about India's growth surpassing that of China. 

China saw GDP growth of 6.8 percent from October to December, with growth of 6.9 percent for the whole of 2017.

"Perhaps India does have stronger economic growth momentum than China, but the two countries are at different development stages, with China already passing the phase of rampant GDP growth," Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times Thursday. 

Growth benefits 

Mayank Kumar, an Indian banker, told the Global Times on Thursday that India's rapid economic growth has "helped a growing middle-class population in India to live a good life," adding that it has given people more opportunities to enjoy "international-standard products and lifestyles." 

Khyati Shah, an Indian marketing professional, said that India's rapid GDP growth has been spurred by the rise in corporate earnings and has spilled over to salaries. 

"For example, being able to travel on luxury cruises and go on international holidays is now a personal benefit for me and many other Indians," she told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"Agricultural productivity has also risen and the manufacturing sector has posted robust results. So the effects of the growth have been witnessed throughout all social spectra," she said. 

Zhao noted that India's GDP growth has mostly been driven by a surge in the country's consumption, helped by liberal macroeconomic policies launched in recent years by the current Indian government, and the global economic rebound has also been a stimulus. 

Kumar noted that India should continue to maintain high-speed growth in the near future. "With its large population base and growing middle class, the retail sector [including e-commerce] looks well-placed for growth. Also, there is large scope for infrastructure development in India and that is another field where growth is expected in the near term," he told the Global Times. 

To teach and to learn from China 

However, as regards the overseas media's comparison of China's and India's economic growth speed, Zhao said that although the two countries' development model is somewhat similar, China has already passed the cheap labor development stage that India is currently undergoing. 

"I predict that India will also experience what China has experienced: a period of robust growth and then a slowdown," he said. 

Kumar said that India has things both to teach and to learn from China. 

"Effective and timely completion of big projects is something India needs to learn from China, as effective time and cost management has been a chronic Indian problem," he said. 

He also pointed out that the services industry, including IT, is something in which India is a global leader. "China can learn from India's expertise in this area," he said. 

Shah said that India should learn from China's funding of infrastructure construction, while China can learn to embrace an attitude of free debate and individuality, which has helped India gain success in multinational corporations.

But Zhao warned that damage to bilateral economic relations in the past year - because of political frictions as well as the two countries' large trade gap - is a dangerous sign. 

"Chinese companies like Huawei have actually attached great importance to the Indian market, but now they are encountering a more difficult environment," he said. 

"Both India and China are Asian giants and I feel they should put aside any geopolitical differences of any kind and work together smoothly to advance together like true leaders," Shah said.