By Invitation | Economic development

Indermit Gill on what China and India must do to join the rich club

First invest, then infuse foreign technology and then innovate, says the World Bank’s chief economist

Illustration: Dan Williams

“TO GET RICH is glorious” is the maxim that inspired one of the most successful development strategies of the past 50 years. It’s an aspiration widely shared across developing countries—and for good reason. When countries become wealthier, the results can be glorious. Living standards rise. Poverty recedes. The propensity to pollute dwindles, as products and production methods improve.

Explore more

From the August 17th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Europe must play to win—not just play nice—in a new space race, argues ESA’s boss

Josef Aschbacher, the European Space Agency’s director-general, says keeping up is not enough

The framework that ended Lebanon’s war in 2006 could help end this one too, says Tarek Mitri

Lebanon’s former foreign minister says any Israeli plan to reshape the country is a recipe for more chaos


Lebanon needs a new army in the south, says Yair Lapid

Israel’s opposition leader sees a way to turn war into a much-needed reset for the country


Philippe Lazzarini says the blows to humanitarian law in Gaza harm us all

The head of UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinians, warns the world not to look away

Ernesto Zedillo says AMLO has left Mexico on the verge of authoritarianism

The former president exhorts Claudia Sheinbaum to opt for democracy

COP29 is greenwashing a dictatorship, writes Azerbaijan’s main opposition leader

Ali Karimli on the hypocrisy of holding the climate conference in a petrostate where dissent is silenced



Discover more

Does China welcome—or dread—an Iran-Israel war?

It wants American interests to suffer, but not at any price

People crossing a river.

Podcast Drum Tower

En route to America, Chinese migrants are targeted by criminals

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, in the second episode of a four-part series, we follow the journey of the migrants as they encounter smugglers and cartels in Mexico


Why investors should still avoid Chinese stocks

The debate about “uninvestibility” obscures something important


China is writing the world’s technology rules

It is setting standards for everything from 6G to quantum computing

The front line of the tech war is in Asia

The two superpowers are vying for influence. China will not necessarily win