Cuneyt Kazokoglu, director of energy economics at consultancy FGE NexantECA, notes two other key factors. First, India hasn’t urbanized nearly as rapidly as China did, with the urban-to-rural population at around 35%-65%; it’s almost the other way around in China. Second, labor-force participation, particularly among women, is notably lower in India than in China. That has an impact that’s often overlooked. Even though India is today more populous than China, and the total population of he latter is declining, the labor force in India will remain smaller for decades to come, reducing the need for extra energy consumption.
There are two additional problems: First, China benefited from globalization, when governments embraced the Asian nation as the world’s workshop. India wouldn’t be welcomed playing that role. For an example, look at the reaction that Donald Trump had when he realized that Apple Inc. planned to shift iPhone production to India from China. His response: Move it into America.'
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