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.

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From the August 17th 2024 edition

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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

Ara Darzi on why antibiotic resistance could be deadlier than cancer

To get on top of the crisis, stop prescriptions without a proper diagnosis, argues the surgeon and politician

Bill Gates on how feeding children properly can transform global health

The stomach influences every aspect of human health, says the philanthropist



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An illustration of two eyes with binary code with the China flag between them. A wavy strip of blue runs along the top whilst below is a smaller US flag, three Yuan symbols, a cursor symbol, wifi symbol, dollar sign and circuit-board patterns along with mo

America v China: who controls Asia’s internet?

Amid an explosive data and AI boom the superpower contest hots up

People crossing a river.

Podcast Drum Tower

Why Chinese migrants are crossing dangerous jungle to reach America

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, in the first episode of a four-part series, we travel to Colombia to meet Chinese migrants en route to the southern border of the United States


A chinese family crossing Darien Gap jungle

How to escape from China to America

We travel with Chinese migrants on the deadly journey to America’s border


Michael Kovrig, former hostage of the Chinese state

Three years after his release, the Canadian tells his story to The Economist

Why China is awash in unwanted milk

Dairy farmers are dumping the stuff, as some call for culling cows

China is using an “anaconda strategy” to squeeze Taiwan

Taiwan’s navy commander warns that his forces are increasingly strained