China & India: Future Shock
BusinessWeek latest issue has a cover article on the coming global dominance of China and India. It's more of the same that has been making the rounds in the media lately, but this article provides a timely and updated summary. BusinessWeek explains that "in the coming decades, China and India will disrupt workforces, industries, companies, and markets in ways that we can barely begin to imagine." Those in the developed nations should take note. If companies adopt a wait and see attitude, they will find themselves surpassed by those that are today taking steps to leverage the might of the two emerging giants.
You can see the signs of China's success in their cities that are being systematically being transformed by gleaming, state of the art infrastructure. India on the other hand is grappling slowly with its change. The transformation is happening, but the infrastructure accompaniment is slow to change. In some ways, this has result in two countries that are uncannily playing off each other's strengths. China is focusing on mass manufacturing of just about everything, including technology. India on the other hand is mastering software, design, services and precision industry. Combined with both their untapped, cheap, and educated labour masses, their future is inevitable.
By 2050, according to some predictions, India will surpass Germany to become the third largest economy, while China will surpass the US to become the number one. Together, the two countries will account for half the global output. They will also account for a significant portion of the consumers of that output -- making them significant growth opportunities for many businesses from the developed nations. China and India will also push their interests on the global stage -- especially in areas like Africa and the Middle East. There's also likely to be military tensions between China and the US, and perhaps even China and India.
BusinessWeek paints quite the compelling future for China and India, and strive to deliver a message to the industrialized nations. Like it or not, China and India will be reshaping the current dominance of the global marketplace. It is inevitable. There's no fighting it. We have to learn to live with it, and make room for them. Along the way, the global economy will become ever more interdependent.
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You can see the signs of China's success in their cities that are being systematically being transformed by gleaming, state of the art infrastructure. India on the other hand is grappling slowly with its change. The transformation is happening, but the infrastructure accompaniment is slow to change. In some ways, this has result in two countries that are uncannily playing off each other's strengths. China is focusing on mass manufacturing of just about everything, including technology. India on the other hand is mastering software, design, services and precision industry. Combined with both their untapped, cheap, and educated labour masses, their future is inevitable.
By 2050, according to some predictions, India will surpass Germany to become the third largest economy, while China will surpass the US to become the number one. Together, the two countries will account for half the global output. They will also account for a significant portion of the consumers of that output -- making them significant growth opportunities for many businesses from the developed nations. China and India will also push their interests on the global stage -- especially in areas like Africa and the Middle East. There's also likely to be military tensions between China and the US, and perhaps even China and India.
BusinessWeek paints quite the compelling future for China and India, and strive to deliver a message to the industrialized nations. Like it or not, China and India will be reshaping the current dominance of the global marketplace. It is inevitable. There's no fighting it. We have to learn to live with it, and make room for them. Along the way, the global economy will become ever more interdependent.
Related links:
For a little history of the region, click here for a BusinessWeek flash animation.
BusinessWeek also has a set of cool slide shows -- multimedia presentions on China & India, covering, "What's Cool," "A Day in the Life," and "China's Dirty Face." China-India Entente Shifts Global Balance -- YaleGlobal Online
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