Experimental Blog # 203

Quotations from "This Brave New World" - India, China, and The United States by Anja Manuel

"While many Chinese modernizers would like to forget Mao and his atrocities and move on, his symbolic power remains. With the original Communist Party philosophy that he stood for dead, Mao's symbolism as a man who navigated China back to the center of world affairs is all that remains."
" < > power is constantly being negotiated: it is not based on the rule of law. The Communist Party is in control, so change happens from the top down."

"In contrast to China, India has an astonishing diversity of ethnic, religious, geographic, political, and caste affiliations. < > This led to the complex coalition politics and relatively weak central government that we see today. < > Competing factions and the short term outlook that comes with elected politics makes it more difficult for India to reform and to project a strong image to the world."

"In a one-party state, it is not surprising that in each region or city the Communist Party secretary is the most important person."
"As in America's democracy, it is sometimes difficult for Indian leaders to push through difficult reforms. Infighting between political parties, politicians focused on short-term election wins instead of long-term solutions, and the fact that many key policies < > are determined by India's states, all make the Indian government a slow-moving beast."

"Overall, almost 70 percent of Chinese women are employed outside the home, compared to 25 percent of Indian women, and 58 percent and declining in the United States."
"China also has 29 million female entrepreneurs - a quarter of the nation's total - and more self-made female billionaires than any other country."
" ... in India just 3 million women own {or partially own} small enterprises across the country ..."

" < > domestic violence in India is depressingly high. According to a government survey, 40 percent of women have experienced it, but experts believe the figure is over 84 percent {!} of women. < > This compares to between 25 and 40 percent in China, and about a quarter of women in the United States."

"It is most astounding that in recent years, China alone loaned more to developing countries than the World Bank < > In the next three decades China plans to build a dizzying mesh of infrastructure around Asia and, through similar initiatives{ to One Belt, One Road}, around the world."
"One Belt, One Road will be < > funded through a number of vehicles, most importantly through the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank {AIIB} < > New Silk Road Fund < > New Development Bank < >The China Development Bank"
""China is going where the West is reluctant to tread." < > The countries that rely most on Chinese investment read like a list of the world's outcasts: Zimbabwe, North Korea, Niger, Angola, Myanmar, and other unsavories. Of course China doesn't just invest in pariah states. More than a third of China's investments actually go to developed countries"

"In recent years, China, India, and other large developing countries have wanted more say in the running of the World Bank and IMF to reflect their growing importance in the world economy."
"Additionally, many developing countries feel that the IMF and World Bank conditions for loans are unnecessarily harsh. The organizations often impose painful austerity measures on countries that are already suffering."

"The world's institutions are outdated. They have been terrible at accommodating ascending powers, especially the largest ones: China and India. There is no easy, one-size-fits-all solution."