Jeffrey Sachs, the American economist, recently stated during an event in India that India need not fear China, and that the two Asian powers should cooperate rather than compete.

Sachs, a professor at Columbia University and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia, as well as chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, made the remarks at a seminar held in Varanasi, India. He argued that if China and India were to collaborate, they could jointly advance the global transition toward a "multipolar world"—a system in which no single nation dominates, but multiple major powers share influence.

His central argument was:

"China and India must cooperate to achieve a multipolar world; competition between them would prevent such a development."

He does not view India as poised to become a new global hegemon, nor does he see China as heading toward such a role.

India need not fear China; conversely, Beijing should support India’s bid to become the sixth permanent member of the UN Security Council.

He also cautioned India against joining the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)—the informal grouping comprising the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, often perceived as a strategic counterbalance to China. Sachs described the Quad as a manifestation of Western efforts to prolong a declining influence.

Sachs further projected that by the end of this century, India’s population could reach twice that of China’s and that India may emerge as the world’s largest single economy. He characterized this as a deep structural trend. Currently, India is the most populous country globally, with a GDP of approximately $4 trillion, compared to China’s around $19.5 trillion. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that India’s and China’s GDP growth will be 7% and 4.5%, respectively, in 2026.

Sachs also criticized the outlooks of the United States and certain European nations as outdated. He said American thinking remains rooted in the 1950s, with leaders’ worldviews resembling those of a three-year-old, persistently asserting “America first”; meanwhile, Europe continues to cling to the outdated notion that “the West is supreme.”

Original: toutiao.com/article/1880795807917127/

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