7.8B Rising economic importance of Asian countries

• -> The status of China and India as emerging superpowers and as global economic powers is clear

  • China is the second largest economy in the world and India is the fifth
  • They are both members of the G20 which works to address issues related to the global economy
  • Together they account for 40% of the world's population 
• China-India:

  • From the 1960s to 1980s there were three border clashes between the countries 
  • Control of areas such as Tawang along the border are disputed
  • Tensions eased from the late 1980s and China became India's largest trading partner
  • 2013, 2018 and 2020 saw escalation of the border conflicts along the Sino-Indian border
  • Both countries maintain a military presence along their common border
• Taiwan:

  • China claims that Taiwan is a Chinese province
  • Taiwan is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC) the government which was overthrown in mainland China by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the Chinese Civil War
  • It is a constitutional republic unlike the PRC which is a communist state
  • China has conducted a number of military exercises, both in the air and at sea, in the area around Taiwan as recently as 2022