For all the Indian jokes and chest thumping about china, they had the chance to show their ability against china but they got a pants down spanking in 1962. They were humiliated. To this day it still stings India. They have this absurd theory just because they have a similar population to china that somehow they can compare themselves to china in ability in anything in economics, military, politics, technology, sports, etc. if population size was the deciding factor then indonesia would be challenging America.
The FACT is china and Chinese civilization have been far ahead of India in development and importance in world affairs for thousands of years. As much as India progresses, china is always well ahead. That's the greatness of Chinese culture, the desire and drive we have to get better and stay ahead.
That's why when we started economic reforms, India wanted to follow china.
India's competition will always be Pakistan.
In 1962, India got a serious lesson by PLA, the Chinese military made mince meat out of the Indian military.
Indians have been living with that shock and humiliation ever since, they have been keeping that bottled up inside them silently.
What bothers India even more is that India is barely ever mentioned as a future superpower in the western media while china gets all the attention even though India has a similar population. That's not good for the Indian ego.
Indians will have to suck it up and learn to live with it.