This is an extremely positive (and also informative to me) set of articles from the current issue of Beijing Review, to coincide with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India, and even has Aish on the cover:

http://www.bjreview.com.cn/


This is the introductory article to the set of the articles, and demonstrates the tone of them:


http://www.bjreview.com.cn/En-2005/05-14-e/14-edit.htm

China and India as Schoolmates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By LII HAIBO

It is now the trend du jour for global media and observers to pass judgment on China and India, or to make a comparison between the two developing giants, as their economic performances are becoming an eye-catching drama on the world stage. While many like to label the two Asian nations as competitors, we feel it might be proper and interesting to describe them as schoolmates that are now studying in a colossal institute called “Modernization University.”

Unlike general colleges and universities as seen everywhere, this school of modernization is invisible and there is no professor or instructor for the students named China and India. As self-taught students, they have to take extraordinary pains to work at their dissertations, which focus on the specific approaches to the prosperity and modernization destination, based on the respective circumstances of China and India.

The two students, China and India, share many similarities in history and are now facing similar difficulties and problems that stand in the way to their promising future. It seems, however, they did not quite communicate with each other in the past decades. They might be generally active and social in some fields, but they appeared a bit estranged from each other. In some cases, they looked like strangers, instead of neighbors, or schoolmates.

Fortunately, things have greatly changed in the last few years. Thanks to the fact that the student China finally realized that there are other excellent students in the class, whose performances and experiences are no less significant than its own. By realizing that India actually is an outstanding classmate next door and should act as a teacher, China has made a perceptional leap, which has resulted in a wave of learning from India.

Credit should be given to the Chinese media, who have helped the Chinese people understand a real and living India, a land full of energy, hope, gumption and success. Now, covering and introducing India has become routine work for Chinese journalists. Never before in history have Chinese citizens had so much access to information about India. The more the Chinese learn about India, the more they feel it a must to study and share India’s experiences and lessons.

The list of the fields, in which India has done a better job than China, is long-from software development to IT research, from the use of foreign funds to the banking system, from outsourcing work to service undertaking. In terms of openness, India has been naturally globalized in one way or another for thousands of years, whereas China had closed its door to the outside world a few times in its history. Though an open country now, China still needs to learn from India on globalization, especially on the matter of how to deal with the West.

Out of what accounts for India’s success, education is a key factor. Indian culture’s strong emphasis on education has created a huge pool of potential professionals and skillful workers, not just software technicians, but doctors, engineers and other experts as well. Here, what India has done might serve as the grist to China’s mill.

With the venerable history of their civilizations, China and India are obviously qualified to hold a teaching position in the world community. But we prefer them to be students. They, after all, have more to learn than to teach in the present era. And it is our belief that a nation that is willing to be a student is likely to enjoy a thousand prospects.

Specific URL to the India-China issue (since a new issue is now on the main page):

http://www.bjreview.com.cn/ml-zhong/Index-2005-14-z.htm

I read an article in the newspaper about Wen's visit.
I think its totally awesome that India and China will collaborate