David Moschella writes, history demonstrates the healthy U.S. market for excessive rhetoric about global competitiveness. While Japan and Europe have had many successes, so, of course, has the U.S. And yet most of the debate seems based on the view that the world's economic pie is somehow fixed and that the growth of one country must mean the decline of another. Thus, when you see highly publicized new books such as Three Billion New Capitalists (written by Prestowitz),you might want to keep these examples in mind. The U.S. remains the clear leader in semiconductors, software, aerospace, cyberspace, biotechnology, nanotechnology, entertainment, agriculture, defense and many other sectors that will benefit from growing Chinese, Indian and other markets. And while future leadership is certainly not a U.S. entitlement and will have to be earned every day, the reality is that with its focus on low-cost manufacturing, China is much more of a threat to Japan and Korea than it is to the U.S. As for India, its growing number of skilled IT workers will prove to be an essential worldwide resource, but it will be decades before India's domestic markets are strong enough to place it at the leading edge of IT value creation. If history is any guide, India and China will have plenty of their own problems, and their success won't have to come at our expense. I think David is spot on.
Category: China & India
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