The world may be awestruck by China's phenomenal economic growth but the Asian dragon lacks the innovative skills of India because of the atmosphere of freedom that exists in its neighbouring competitor.
Barely 10 days ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to New Delhi for the BRICS Summit on March 29, Republican leader Jon Huntsman Jr dwelt on the competitive placement of the two South Asian giants in the global order.
Huntsman, who was not so long ago the US envoy to Beijing, elaborated on the idea of India and the growth of China as he addressed a packed audience at the first session - 'Decoding the Dragon- China: Opportunities and Challenges' - on Day Two of the Eleventh India Today Conclave.
Not many would know that the former US envoy and Utah governor has a deep connection with both neighbours.
Huntsman has two daughters, one adopted from India and one from China. 'I wake up every day with the hope of India
because that is what my daughter's name, Asha Bharati, means,' he said on a personal note.
To a query from industrialist Adi Godrej on whether India is given equal importance in the global discourse, Huntsman said the atmosphere of freedom that breeds innovation underlines India's standing. China is watching it very carefully.
'China carefully takes note of India's innovative moves and will like to crack the code of innovation. Yet, cracking this code will not be easy because of the lack of freedom unlike in India and the US whose partnership is based on shared values,' Huntsman said.
China is not only a challenge for India but also for the world's lone superpower in the post-USSR period, and Huntsman is among those qualified to explain the Chinese mindset and its policy, having served as US envoy to China from 2009-11.
He later stepped down to run for the 2012 Republican nomination for President. With barely six months left for leadership change in China, the international community awaits the new communist bosses and their approach towards political and market-oriented reforms.
The 'Fifth Generation' of Chinese leaders will take over at the 18th Party Congress this October.
Seven of the nine standing members of the Politburo will be shifted as Xi Jinping takes over the mantle from Hu Jintao as the new President. Huntsman is hopeful Xi Jinping will bring more stability.
Huntsman will be meeting with Chinese president Hu Jintao
'By the end of 2013, Xi will consolidate himself and this will be good news for reforms,' Huntsman observed, whose biggest challenge as the envoy to China was to manage the Washington- Beijing relations in the backdrop of US military ties with Taiwan.
According to Huntsman, the biggest challenge for Xi in the next two years will be to deal with the growing social networking generation in China.
Crackdown on bloggers and Internet activists have forced people to find ways to circumvent the system and speak out on issues of human rights, economic disparity and ideology.
And for the world, the challenge will be to deal with intrusions into their cyberspace, warned Huntsman in a veiled reference to China as a perpetrator.
'There are no clear answers as to how to deal with this cyber security threat.'
Huntsman believes the new Chinese leadership will look to reduce the wide gap between its rural and urban population given the fact that it ranks 99 in the world in percapita- income.
Asked about the new leadership's challenge to deal with the question of Tibet, Huntsman was categorical in his reply: 'It is a complicated question for China. It is a question of sovereignty. Add to that religious and cultural sensitivity. What happens next is an important step. It is a problem crying out for dialogue. Once Xi consolidates power, there could be a new beginning for the Tibet issue during 2013-14.'
Tibet is intrinsically linked to China's internal security challenge and the Huntsman claimed China spends more on public and state security than national defence.
'They are spending more on domestic security. This explains that China is focusing on stability at home. But China will also step up its role with respect to North Korea, Iran, the South China Sea and Pakistan,' he predicted.
The former envoy described China in three phases - 1972, after the visit of Kissinger and Nixon as 'preparing to enter the world'; its entry into the WTO in 2001 as 'no longer preparing', and finally in 2012 as having arrived 'on the world stage'.
China lacks innovative skills and freedom found in India | Mail Online
