When Indians talk about China, many fall back on what is essentially a tortoise-and-hare rendering of their relative performance. The story goes something like this: “Sure, China has its 30-year record of double-digit growth, its gleaming skyscrapers and its eight-lane superhighways. But India has the ‘soft architecture', the democracy, the rule of law and the freedom of speech that provide shock absorbers and make its economic prospects more enduring.” The implication is that, while authoritarian China may have raced out of the traps, sooner or later it will falter. India, playing the long game, will keep up a measured pace and one day surpass it.
當印度人談到中國時，許多人會把兩國的相對錶現歸結於一個龜兔賽跑的故事。情況大抵如此：「的確，中國擁有長達30年的兩位數成長記錄、熠熠生輝的摩天大樓和8車道的高速公路。但印度擁有『軟結構'，民主制度、法制和言論自由，這爲印度提供了緩衝，並使其經濟前景更具永續性。」言下之意是，儘管威權中國可能已迅速擺脫了困境，但遲早會步履蹣跚。而打持久戰的印度將保持穩定的步伐，終有一天會超越中國。