This Brave New World by Anja Manuel

An illuminating book by former State Department official Anja Manuel provided a current (published within the last several weeks), in-depth look at India, China and the USA's relationship with each.  It covered all major aspects of each country, including culture, politics, economy and so much more that I couldn't possibly recap it here.  This book packed a lot of punch in 368 pages.  It fascinated me and I raced through it.

In addition to many smaller contextual details, the book underscored a handful of major contrasting points between India and China:

• China's authority is from the top down, autocratic; India's is from the bottom-up (think Ghandi's reform movements).  China's leadership mandates policy and can therefore take on huge projects, while India struggles to push through almost any national reform or legislation. 
• China is homogeneous, ethnically, linguistically, culturally; India is famously heterogeneous, with countless langues, ethnicities, religions and 29 states that wield the real political power.
• Demographically, China features a large bulge of aging seniors; India is the exact opposite with a bulging youth. 
• China's economy emphasizes manufacturing; India lacks manufacturing but excels at IT, technology and services.
• China, most interesting, embraces global trade and exchange, while India can be stubbornly protectionist. 
• China's growth is slowing while India's is believed to be accelerating.

One of Manuel's central themes is the importance of all three countries collaborating in every possible way.  More cross-border exchange helps everyone.  From economic and trade pacts, to cultural and educational partnerships, to just about everything else.  She even cites how the navies of China and the U.S. recently collaborated to put the commanding officers of individual ships in direct communication with one another; that kind of sharing could avoid small entanglements from escalating into global incidents.

The scale of these two countries is staggering.  From India's cultural multiplicity to China's colossal scale of development (inside and out of its own borders), the United States seems almost irrelevant in context.  Both countries fascinate me, but in completely different ways.  This book brought me closer to each.