I borrowed a bunch of books and magazines from my local library, and discovered, in the course of perusing them, these interesting comparisons of China and India that are over a 150 years apart.
The first is from a book by an English woman who traveled outside her country only twice in her life, to places like Edinburgh, Scotland and Brussels, Belgium.
Obviously, her comments on China and India are based on heresay, but it begs the question as to how she came upon her information and whether any of it resonates today. (Actually, a tiny sliver does.)
The second is a critical article in a business magazine about the problems India faces in modernizing it's society, and competing with China. It provides a counterbalance to previous articles I'd seen that seemed to give India the advantage in the race of the developing economic juggernauts.
(excerpts follow)
The clumsiest people in Europe; or Mrs. Mortimer’s bad-tempered guide to the Victorian World by Mrs. Favell Lee Mortimer
Edited by Todd Pruzan (Bloomsbury, 2005)
Far Off, Part I: Asia and Australia Described (1852)
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| In China | In Hindostan |
|---|---|
| There is one emperor | There is no emperor, and the English govern the country |
| They seldom wash themselves | They bathe often |
| They are grave and silent | They are merry and talkative |
| They are industrious | They are idle |
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India’s bumpy ride: a tech revolution, a new middle class, a sizzling economy. But it still can’t get the basics right.
By Clay Chandler / Fortune, Oct. 31, 2005
“As recently as 20 years ago the two countries were on roughly equal footing. Both were large, predominantly agrarian countries with GDPs of less than $1 trillion and per capita incomes of about $300. Both had effectively withdrawn from global commerce. Today China’s economy is more than twice as large as India’s and:
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| (All figures as of 2004) | China | India |
|---|---|---|
| Economic growth rate (annual) | 9-10% | 6-7% |
| GDP per capita | $1100-1200 | $500-600 |
| % of population living on < $1/day | 13 | 31 |
| Foreign direct investment | $60 billion | $5 billion |
| Literacy rate for population > 15 years-old | 91% | 61% |
| Exports | $600 billion | $105 billion |
| Urban population | 40% | 28% |
Households with tv’s | 370+ million | 80 million |
Mobile subscribers | 360+ million | 60 million |
Internet users | 110 million | 30 million |
“India…excels at the impossible, turning out hundreds of thousands of brilliant engineers a year. Its software houses manage complex data across thousands of miles of undersea cable for the world’s most sophisticated clients. India has world-class business leaders and, unlike China, solvent banks. And yet India flubs the obvious stuff. The national roadway network is a shambles and the power grid even worse. Nearly a third of India’s population – and more than half its women – can’t read or write. India has moved grudgingly to lower tariffs and balked at turning money-losing state-owned enterprises over to the private sector. Red tape and corruption discourage foreign investment, as do restrictions on how firms deploy workers.”