Even from a historical point of view the Chinese economy has proved its mettle against India time and again. While India had almost 200 years of British suppression to blame for its lagging economy, China on the other hand has always been its own master in planning and implementing its economic policies. The British vacated only after draining all of India resources, whereas the Chinese had its natural and human resourced intact, making it an economic superpower far quickly in the game.
Consider this. China is the third largest economy with respect to exchange rates, and India holds the 12th position. China has an average 7.8 trillion GDP, while India shows 1.2 trillion GDP and the per capita GDP of China is $6,100, while that of India is $1016. So, where does the difference lie?
There are many factors that have given the Chinese economy a winning streak. For instance, both China and India are basically an agricultural land. And yet, while India is still weighed down by traditional and outdated methods of cultivation, the Chinese have successful incorporated technological innovations into their agricultural methods. As a result, the quality and quantity of the produce is very high. Another difference that has resulted in China better economy is the liberalization policies. It was more than 10 years after China had brought in the privatization and globalization policies that India woke up to its own liberalization. By which time, China had increased her GDP considerably by welcoming foreign and private investments.
Then another point of difference is India still does not have an infrastructure that she can boast of, although she is on par with her neighbor in manpower. China communication, health care facilities, civic amenities etc., which have a positive impact on its economy are much better than India. But, India is showing promising indications. Her resilient nature, standing her ground during the financial fall out has made the world look up to her. Between China and India, the latter has emerged far less hurt due to financial downturn.