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China and India: World's Next Superpowers?

In: Computers and Technology

Submitted By Anwaar08
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MGMT 002 Technology and World Change Topical Written Report Term 1, AY 2011-2012 G22, Project Group 4 Word Count: 1000

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Table of Contents I. Synopsis ............................................................................................. 3 II. Relationship between technological and economic developments ............................................................................................................... 3 A. How technological developments fuel economic developments........................................................................................ 3 B. How economic developments fuel technological developments........................................................................................ 3 C. How sustainable are these developments? ............................. 4 III. Impact of economic and technological developments ................. 4 A. On Asia ........................................................................................ 4 B. On the world now ........................................................................ 4 C. On the world in the future .......................................................... 5 IV. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 5

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I. Synopsis Will China and India be the world’s next superpowers? Perhaps history has its answers. Mankind has always been in search of for greener pastures, and there has always been powerful of empires that have had control of a large region, as seen from the passing of the baton of supremacy from one empire to another, from the Greeks to the Chinese and subsequently to the Ottomans, Europeans and American. With the gradual liberalization of China and India, there has been an increasing openness to interact with other countries, resulting in a great diffusion of technology across countries. China and India leverage on technological development to drive economic growth and vice versa. We recognise that there are other unintended consequences of the rapid development of technology and economy. These consequences are far-reaching, extending beyond the internal domains of China and India themselves to affect the entire world. Looking at the intrinsic link between technology, the economy and geopolitics, and taking into account the rise of India and China, we conclude that there will be a shift of power to the East in time to come.

II. Relationship between technological and economic developments A. How technological developments fuel economic developments Quintessential to China and India’s ascension as emerging super-powers is economic liberalization and a directed approach to embrace globalization. This encourages the free-flow of ideas and technology with others. The influx of new technologies was integral to propelling both countries’ economic development 1 as it augmented productivity levels, created new industries and spurred the growth of lateral industries. The gasification of coal using the underground coal gasification technology in China2 for instance enhanced the exploitation of natural resource to greatly increase the production of energy for domestic use and exports. Further, in India, the Green Revolution utilized foreign technology to raise agriculture output
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“Innovation Capacity and Economic Development, China and India”, Peilei Fan, March 2008 http://www.niaslinc.dk/gateway_to_asia/nordic_webpublications/x506035734.pdf 2 “Exploiting China’s Coal While It’s Still Underground”, Peter Fairley, 8 July 2011

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significantly, transforming India from a starving nation to the 2 nd top producer of farm outputs globally3. Concurrently, lateral industries such as machinery and engineering industries grew and created new business opportunities. B. How economic developments fuel technological developments Technological developments fuel economic developments and this synergy leads to a cyclical and snowballing effect of re-investment in technology as capital investment rises and new innovations are sought by both the public and private sector to remain competitive. China, which has already overtook the US in terms of manufacturing output 4 evinces the catalyzing effect economic growth has on technological development as it can afford to improve its manufacturing processes in its factories. India too, leveraged on their economic growth to establish itself as an Information Technology powerhouse by improving education standards and infrastructure in the country. C. How sustainable are these developments? Technology has unequivocally enabled both countries to propel their economic growth and ascension as super powers; alongside, a plethora of unintended consequences from an ever-widening income disparity, inflation, pollution and such arise due to rapid industrialization and ever-increasing demand for resources. Technology is then essential in bridging social and economic growth to achieve a balance and create shared value to achieve sustainable development.

III. Impact of economic and technological developments A. On Asia Economic growth can prove to be double-edged. Both countries rising affluence meant having greater purchasing power, therefore translating into stimulating growth in Asia and the world vis-à-vis the import of more goods from trade partners that are essential for domestic production and consumption. Concurrently, rapid economic growth has exacerbated internal problems such as inequitable distribution of wealth
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Based on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAOSTAT) 2009 final data “China noses ahead as top goods producer”, Peter Marsh, Financial Times, March 13 2011

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and corruption, leading to an increasing prevalence of social unrest which may then destabilise Asia as a whole. Conversely, if the two countries are willing to share their existing technologies with developing Asian countries, they can contribute massively to the progress of Asia and spur growth across the region. B. On the world now Technological development provides a platform for both countries to step into the global spotlight where India emerged as a leader in Information Technology and Agriculture whilst China became a manufacturing giant and major energy producer. However, they must not be blinded by the pursuit of technological advancements and ignore the repercussions and impacts it causes, like environmental pollution. The cycle of technology (problems) creating technology (solutions) stands, and they have to maintain the delicate equilibrium in developing both forms of technologies. Aside from pollution, the needs of these two giants have driven up prices for resources, leaving the world to grapple with inflation. An over-reliance on China and India’s exports has also resulted in tensions between trade partners such as America, rendering their economic and technological development a complex and problematic issue. C. On the world in the future Asia and the world may have to face future implications that India and China are imposing both directly and indirectly. Examples for India are over-dependency on exports, incapability to compete with India’s technological exponential growth and environmental effects due to the rise of more industrialization occurring in India. Will India even reach self-sufficiency in their agricultural industry in the future? Will India be a huge threat in the future? And if China manages to incorporate energygenerating technologies and complementing counterparts (e.g. Coal Collection and Storage) successfully, it will flourish exponentially. As energy sources depletes, China will dominate the energy market, and even replace USA as the strongest country in the world. However, if development of such technologies fails to pick up, will China’s progress be hindered due to massive investment losses and drop in societal confidence?

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IV. Conclusion The economic and technological developments in both countries have shown much promise thus far. However, it takes more than just technology but a list of other factors like political stability, culture and ethics for a country to be valued as global superpowers. The question then arises, does India and China have what it takes to steer towards this direction and fulfil their true potential? Only time will tell.

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