Superpower? The Amazing Race Between China's Hare and India's Tortoise.

• Author: Ma, Jenny
• Position: Book review

SUPERPOWER? THE AMAZING RACE BETWEEN CHINA'S HARE AND INDIA'S TORTOISE

Raghav Bahl

(New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2010), 242 pages.

The ongoing race between India and China lies at the center of Raghav Bahl's research on the rise of the two rivals to superpower status. Using the famed fable of the tortoise and the hare as a metaphor for his inquiry, Bahl probes the social, political, economic and historical infrastructure of the two countries. He posits that while China's hare raced to an unprecedented rapid expansion that elicited worldwide admiration, India's tortoise should not be underestimated. Rather than declaring as the victor the country that is investing the most and growing the fastest, Bahl suggests that superior innovative skills and entrepreneurial savvy shall prevail.

Bahl traces the history that has led to mutual suspicion, ranging from conflicts over disputed lands half a century ago to current threats of nuclear weapons deployment. Bahl also presents a comparative analysis of China's and India's post-Lehman recoveries to become two of the fastest growing economies of the world. He cites impressive trade figures between the countries, averaging more than $60 billion a year to the nearly 1.5 billion people involved in trading. Bahl hypothesizes that the countries are currently locked in an uncomfortable embrace, engaged in a race in which China is on...