Dealing with the Dragon - What is India signalling?
Both of the countries are among the most populated countries of the world, both of them are neighbors and both started their growth trajectory almost at the same time and at the same levels. Yet, China is far ahead of India today in almost every sphere ranging from infrastructure to social indicators. China is India's most important neighbor and its biggest trading partner with India-China trade being pegged at around 9% of India's total trade. At around $70 billion this number is expected to surpass $100 billion by 2015. But, India has a huge deficit to the tune of $40 billion mainly because China is a global manufacturing and export hub. The relationship between India and China has always been of distrust, a situation that has persisted since the pre-independence days. I won't go into the past details and would just state the fact that both the countries know that their peaceful co-existence is a must for their own development and for the development of the pe...