The silk road to riches: How you can profit by investing in Asia’s newfound prosperity

Chapter 3. The Great comparison

One of the most important international events of 2003 was India’s Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s state visit to China. During that visit, Vajpayee and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a Declaration of Cooperation and nine protocols on bilateral cooperation, normalizing Sino-Indian relations. Two years later, in April 2005, the Chinese Premier visited India and signed more agreements on trade, border issues, and the development of new energy sources.

Given their bitter past, and a border dispute that has been going on since 1962, China’s and India’s willingness to put their differences aside and concentrate on their mutual economic growth is viewed here as one of the most important global developments of ...