The new tri polarity: US, China and India

Saturday, 6 September 2014 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Following is the lecture titled ‘The New Tri Polarity; US, China and India’ by Professor Amit Gupta organised by The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) in collaboration with the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies on Tuesday 26 August Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies, Sri Lanka’s premier national think-tank , in collaboration with the Regional Center for Strategic Studies conducted a public lecture on the topic ‘The New Tri Polarity; US, China and India’ by Professor Amit Gupta.

Prof. Gupta is an Associate Professor at the Department of International Security Studies in the United States Air Force War College. Elaborating his academic view on the topic he discussed the changing dynamics of China, USA and India in the world economy. He explained that in the next 10 to 15 years, China would be among the world’s three largest economies in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) and would succeed the USA and India. He further stated that in 2011, the USA owns 23% of global GDP and China, 17% of global GDP. However, according to the projections, by 2030 China will surpass the USA and share 28% of the world’s GDP where as the latter will share only 18% of global GDP. According to Professor Gupta China’s strategy of investing in countries in Africa and Latin America is a mechanism of using globalisation as a tool to connect with countries far away from its neighborhood and it is a process to weaken the power of USA. China’s dynamic and extensive Diaspora further strengthens its position internationally.

He further stated that the rivalry between China and the USA is not between the two governments, but between the People’s Bank of China and the Federal Reserve. Presenting his views on the USA, he went on to address the comparative advantages that the USA has in terms of high technology, innovation and higher education. Emphasising on the importance of higher education Professor Gupta pointed out the strong positions the Universities in America hold in the world ranking.

Besides, he noted, that a large numbers of Chinese student are studying in these universities. In addition, Prof. Amit Gupta also put forwarded the different dimensions of the relationship between the USA, China and India. His presentation was followed by a question and answer session in which he stated that the present context of this tri polarity among China, USA and India will not lead to a cold war but it will further integrate them. More importantly, he highlighted that it is the brain power that would determine the power in today’s world.