India

A challenge to the developed world to reduce emissions

Posted by Olivia Wainwright at 2:49 pm China vs. the West, In the News, The Beijing Consensus No Responses »

Aug 282011

On Friday, China, South Africa, Brazil and India all called on developed and highly industrialised countries to make greater efforts to reduce their emissions. The call comes a few months before the United Nations climate summit, which will be held in Durban, South Africa, this November. The meeting will focus on the extension of the Kyoto Protocol targets that are supposed to be met next year, as well as other plans to reduce global emissions.

The success of the Kyoto Protocol is doubtful, because neither China nor the USA has signed the agreement, even though the two countries are the world’s two heaviest polluters. UN statistics from 2007 show that the percentage increase in CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2007 has been greatest in Brazil, China, South Africa and India, especially when compared to developed industrial countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom. China’s percentage increase, for example, was 165.7%, whereas the United States increase was only 20.2%.

Are these developing nations trying to divert the attention away from their poor attempts at reducing emissions? Or do they genuinely believe the responsibility to reduce global emissions rests on the shoulders of the developed world?

China wants an African BRIC

Posted by Bradley Gardner at 3:57 pm Uncategorized No Responses »

Dec 302010

On Christmas eve of this year China inviting South Africa to join the occasional meetings of heads of state of the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. Jim O’Neill, the man who coined the term BRIC in 2001 to stand for the four largest emerging markets with “near unlimited” growth potential, responded that South Africa doesn’t really fit into his schema (Via BeyondBrics):

The size of its economy is $350bn. And as O’Neill notes:

… this is quite small by not only BRIC standards, but compared to some others. For example, Russia is around $1,600 billion, nearly 5 times larger than South Africa. And, India is currently similar in size to Russia. Brazil is currently closer to $2,000 billion in size, while China is considerably larger at around $5,500 billion.

That’s of course not the point, the point is that China sees Africa as as a huge potential market, and wants to integrate the continent as much as it can into the “BRIC” story. The largest economy under a single political grouping is South Africa, and thus…

It’s always been a somewhat interesting question whether Africa actually fits in to the BRIC story. BeyondBrics has a bit of a non-committal no. But as I’ve previously mentioned comparisons to India are often made. And of course India and China are much more diverse (even politically) than their single national government would make seem. The rate of demographic growth in Africa throws another variable into the mix.

Of course the BRIC concept was kind of arbitrary to begin with, so how much Africa fits doesn’t really matter greatly. The big point though is that the African story is gaining traction in the global economy. As it should.

China and India: Strategic competition in Africa

Posted by Eric Olander at 11:38 pm China vs. India No Responses »

Aug 262010

Africa is now the latest front in an increasingly global competition between India and China for new markets, arable land and access to natural resources. While Western media and politicians have reacted with varying degrees of alarm to the surge of Chinese trade and investment in Africa, Indian companies have been quietly building their presence on the continent.

As China drives deeper into what many Indians consider their sphere of influence in South Asia, Africa offers an ideal opportunity for Indian firms to challenge China’s growing influence in the region. For many Indians, particularly in certain political circles and in the blogosphere, competition with China is often presented in a classical real politik paradigm. The headlines misleadingly frame the issue in terms of win/lose or even as a “race” between the two countries. Although it may be compelling, even somewhat entertaining, to draw on 19th century colonial clichés (e.g. the Scramble for Africa or the Great Game) it is entirely misleading as both Indian and Chinese strategies are radically different to strategies employed by earlier European powers.

Ironically, the enhanced competition among Chinese and Indian companies will most directly affect European and American firms, which are rapidly being shut out of Africa’s emerging markets. “We just can’t compete when both Chinese and Indian [construction] companies are undercutting us by 50 to 60 percent,” complained a senior executive of General Electric’s infrastructure systems group. He requested anonymity because of ongoing negotiations with North African and Middle Eastern governments, where he is competing directly with Chinese contractors. “Our cost structure and profit requirements are simply too high compared to the Chinese and Indians,” he added. General Electric is not alone. Continue reading »