Historian talks about rise of China and India at VGCC

Noted economic historian Dr. Peter Coclanis presented a seminar at Vance-Granville Community College on April 3 entitled, “India, China, and the United States: The Battle for Global Economic Supremacy in the 21st Century.” VGCC students, instructors and staff were joined in the Civic Center by members of the community to hear the presentation. Coclanis’ presentation was the seventh installment of an International Speakers Series sponsored by the VGCC Global Awareness Committee in partnership with the University of North Carolina’s World View program. The event marked a return to VGCC for Coclanis, who spoke on the global recession as part of the same series in 2009.

Coclanis, the Albert R. Newsome Professor of History and director of the Global Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, addressed the economic rivalry between China and India and the impact of that rivalry on the United States and students’ futures. “The rise of Asia generally, and these two countries specifically, is the central economic narrative of the 21st century,” the professor said. Asia is home to over 60 percent of the world’s population, he noted. China is the world’s most populous country, followed by India and then by the United States in a distant third place. “China and India, sometimes collectively called ‘Chindia,’ have experienced rapid economic growth in recent decades, with millions being lifted out of poverty,” Coclanis said. Nevertheless, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States is much larger than that of either country, with American companies succeeding in productivity despite a smaller population. Coclanis said that even though China and India are similarly growing, the two nations are quite different and have a difficult relationship. With a much younger population, India is set to have more people than China by 2050. Indian infrastructure also lags badly behind that of China. The scholar said that economic growth in Asia presents challenges and opportunities for North Carolina. “With increased competition, we’re going to have to ‘up’ our game and increase our skill sets and education,” Coclanis said. “We have to adopt the mindset that we will learn throughout our lives, because the skills we learn early in our careers will not necessarily remain relevant later on.” American workers must add value and quality to their products and services as they embrace global competition, which will ultimately benefit all countries, he argued. “There are many opportunities around the world for skilled people, especially those whose skills are in specific niches,” Coclanis said, as he encouraged students to gain skills that will allow them to work anywhere. “Ninety-five percent of the world’s population is not in the United States, and other economies are developing, whereas ours is mature.”