Cheer up, Mumbai: Shanghai is not that great
Business execs all over American are quoting Chinese sayings. All the attention that China receives is getting some people really worried, such as people from India. But worry not, subcontinental friends, because Mumbai need not be Shanghai. In fact, India is in many ways better off than is Shanghai. Yasheng Huang, a Chinese economics expert says:
"People refer to China's world class infrastructure, impressive highways, skyscrapers and airports," Huang said on Wednesday evening, speaking on policy frameworks and development strategies of the two Asian giants. "That is an extremely harmful and misleading way of understanding China's success."
Huang was obviously on a roll, because he continued with even more blasphemy, saying that:
He pointed out that most grandiose buildings in China -- that impress visitors without fail -- were built by local governments and could even be called a drain because they diverted valuable resources from more pressing needs such as rural education and private sector financing.
He also said stuff about transparent and effective legal systems, a robust private sector, blah, blah, blah. The take home point is that Mumbai need not get Shanghai-envy, and that each must follow its own path, or do its own thang, as we say in the 'hood.
When you're feeling too caught up in the international keeping-up-with-the-Joneses game, you might do well to keep in mind George W. Bush's recent advice:
"We shouldn't fear a world that is more interacted."
Photo from Tomato Umlaut's Flickr page.

