China and India, accounting for 37.5 percent of the world's population, have today become major determinants of the direction of world affairs. With consistent economic growth rates and an increasing pool of talent, some economists project that these two countries will eventually come to monopolise the international economy. Another view, however, holds that there are too many internal problems lurking under the surface within both of these massive economies, which will make it impossible for them to topple the West in terms of its business leadership, at least in the medium term. Correctly predicting the evolution ahead will, clearly, become of increasing importance for governments and corporations around the world.
In Chindia, Peter Engardio, an editor for Business Week, offers a collection of perceptive comparisons and contrasts between these two economies. The compendium (most published previously by Engardio's employer) provides an important historical backdrop to these jointly rising economies; as well as an analysis of their industrial strengths, such as their massive working population, and their infrastructural weaknesses, including the political chaos in certain parts of both countries. From these assessments, the generalisation emerges that India's democratic political system appears to make it a better commercial hub, while China is seen to have built superior, more-efficient production facilities.
Engardio's selection helps to unfold the economic and technological progress being made collectively by 'Chindia', illustrating the striking differences between the initial experiences of setting up businesses in these two countries versus the current situation. For instance, when companies such as General Electric and IBM first entered India and China, they both had absolute advantages in terms of production and sales. Today, however, all international corporations (Volkswagen, Samsung, etc) are forced to compete for business with local companies such as Haier and Lenovo in China, and Infosys Technologies and Tata Group in India. Likewise, Beijing and New Delhi once would mould their trade policies to plead for investments from European and American companies. Today, however, officials in both governments are negotiating investment deals with the rest of the world.
Chindia also looks to the future, projecting opportunities of which these two countries could avail. These appear to revolve around the potential production of high-end electronics and luxury items at prices that could revolutionise consumer habits around the world. Some of the challenges that could follow this revolution are also explored, most notably climate change and the ramifications of the massively growing Indian and Chinese middle classes. When Engardio finally wades into the debate mentioned in the first paragraph of this review, he predicts Chindia's inevitable takeover as the "chief drivers of global growth" – and backs this through the convincing stories of international business executives such as Ratan Tata and Scott Bayman, General Electric's country head in India.