China could be set for an almighty clash with India as the two nations battle to claim the position of global financial superpower to rival the US. A collapsing property market which has seen billions wiped off the value of state-owned companies, and President Xi Jinping’s support for President Putin during the war with Ukraine have spooked investors and angered the West.
US tech behemoth Apple, a company worth a staggering three trillion dollars, is slowly moving some of its supply chain away from the Far Eastern nation, and other investors are reportedly following suit.
Currently around seven percent of iPhones are made in India but the New York Times reports financial experts JPMorgan Chase predict that figure will rise to 25 percent in 2025.
Sriram Viswanathan, an Indian-born managing partner at Celesta, a Silicon Valley venture capital fund, said he thought investors were seeking to “fill the vacuum” in any gaps in supply. He told the newspaper: “That, I think, is the opportunity for India.”
As of November last year India’s overall economy was worth $3.5 trillion, making it the fifth largest in the world behind China in second place with an economy worth nearly $15 trillion.
The European Union, which has the world’s second largest GDP at around $19 trillion, also recently announced closer ties with India in terms of opening up a new ‘Silk Route’ trade corridor.
Viewed as a rival to China’s ambition to build a modern equivalent of the historic trading route between East and West, the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor [IMEC] features a rail link, electricity cable and hydrogen pipeline.
China, which has also undergone border disputes with India over the Nathu La crossing, has also come up against the US and Europe because it does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign nation.
In Ji Jinping’s New Year message the leader, who has made himself ruler for life, ramped up the rhetoric saying his country still viewed the tiny Western friendly island nation as Chinese territory.
On the same day President Jinping appointed new defence minister Dong Jun after months of uncertainty following the firing of his predecessor for reasons still unexplained. There has been no comment on the removal of the previous incumbent Li Shangfu, who has not been seen or heard from since August.
