The Economist Debate: 'India will overtake China in the next 25 years'

This debate is presented in conjunction with Chatham House. This event is complimentary, however seats are limited so registration is strongly recommended.

All eyes these days focus on China, the workshop of the world, the most populous nation and, many believe, a superpower in waiting. But what of India? Its economy is growing nearly as fast as China's, its population is growing faster and it, too, has the ambition to play a larger role on the world stage. Unlike China, it has the benefits of democracy and the rule of law to set alongside its economic dynamism.

In the information-based world of the mid-21st century, might India catch up with and overtake China? Might its democracy, with its inherent ability to openly debate and deal with regional, economic and political tensions, prove more durable than a one-party system that may prove to be dangerously fragile? And might India's new-found friendship with America stand it in better stead that China's "strategic competition" with the current superpower? Or is India's democracy a source of weakness, hampering its ability to reform its economy and condemning it to always being one step behind?

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