China/India hype

This adds some much needed perspective to the hype about China and India:

The U.S. last year exported twice as much to Germany and Japan ($85.7 billion) as to China and India ($40.9 billion). Sales of U.S. companies in Germany and Japan, setting aside the origin of the goods or services, were more than six times as great as their sales in China and India. For all the hoopla about investing in China, U.S. companies invested $52.7 billion in Germany and Japan from 2000 to 2004, a little more than four times as much as the $13.1 billion they invested in China and India. For every dollar U.S. companies have invested in China lately, they have invested two in Japan.

The thing about China and India isn't where they're at, it's where they're going. But given China's lack of democracy and India's still massive public sector their future status as economic superpowers is not at all assured. Could happen -- may even be likely -- but is far from a foregone conclusion.