My best four arguments that India should not compare itself to China
1. China's ($11.4 trillion) nominal GDP is five times larger than India's ($2.2 trillion).
If we adjust China's nominal GDP to the SNA 2008 method, China's nominal GDP is closer to $12.5 trillion. China's nominal economy is actually 5.7 times larger than India's.
2. China's nominal GDP growth rate is three times higher than India's.
By eyeballing China's nominal GDP for 2010 ($6 trillion) to 2015 ($11.4 trillion), you can see that it almost doubled. The exact nominal GDP growth rate was 90%.
Indian nominal GDP for 2010 ($1.7 trillion) to 2015 ($2.2 trillion) grew by 30%.
China is growing three times faster than India and will continue to outgrow India in the future. The Indian currency is simply depreciating too excessively each year.
3. China Inc. is profitable and this has been true for decades. This year, China's merchandise trade surplus is about $550 billion US dollars.
India Inc. has been unprofitable for as long as I can remember. The Indian annual trade deficit is about $137 billion.
------------------------------
Indian trade deficit increases to $137 billion.
There is no sign that India will ever follow in China's footsteps. India Inc. keeps bleeding cash. Without a cash hoard to fund modern manufacturing plants and R&D, India will perpetually stay a backward country.
Prime Minister Modi has shown no discernible impact on India's economy.
India frets trade gains could unravel as deficit widens | Reuters
"
India frets trade gains could unravel as deficit widens
NEW DELHI | BY MANOJ KUMAR
Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:09pm IST
...
Annual figures published on Friday for the full fiscal year that ended in March showed merchandise exports declined 1.2 percent to $310.5 billion, while imports were down 0.6 percent, at $447.6 billion.
That widened the annual trade deficit for Asia's third-largest economy to $137 billion in the 2014/15 fiscal year from $135.8 billion in the preceding year, with the fall in net exports likely to hurt gross domestic product."
------------------------------
4. China is Asia's leading science nation. Worldwide, China ranks second in the number of research articles published in the prestigious journal
Nature.
In comparison, India is a meager 5% of China's output in
Nature articles. Since India is only 1/20th of China's scientific research capability, it is silly to compare the two countries.
China produced 427
Nature articles. India produced only 20. This is not competitive.
Country rankings | Nature Publishing Index Asia-Pacific | Nature Publishing Group
In conclusion, the gap between China and India is unbelievably huge.
China's nominal GDP is about 5.7 times larger than India's (using SNA 2008), grows three times faster on average (90% vs. 30%), the difference is almost $700 billion in trade (e.g. China has a $550 billion trade SURPLUS; India has a $137 billion trade DEFICIT), and China's research publication is 20 times higher in the prestigious journal
Nature (427 Chinese research articles vs. 20 Indian articles).
Why in the world would anybody want to compare India to China? They do not belong in the same classification.
China's economy should only be compared to the United States or the European Union.
China's economic growth is relevant in determining the speed at which China is closing in on US nominal GDP.
China's trade surplus is relevant in calculating the additional contribution to China's nominal GDP growth. I can't think of a single major nation that has a China-like nominal GDP growth rate.
China's #2 worldwide ranking in
Nature publications should only be compared to the United States (ranked world #1) or Germany (ranked world #3). At worst, China should only be compared to Japan (ranked world #6).