More and more countries with formerly rather closed economies have opened themselves to the world market. Thus, new players have entered on to the global stage and are becoming increasingly relevant economic powers and, as a result, competitors to established developed countries. As a consequence, the process of globalisation is leading to a shift in weights within the global economy.
This shift is nothing exceptional. It is quite a natural development which simply reflects the continuously evolving global economic landscape. Within this process, China and India, in particular, have gained particular relevance over the past decade, in both economic and political terms. In the case of India, there can be little doubt that the world’s largest democracy is an emerging global economic power.