This episode is part of our curtain raiser series ahead of the tenth edition of the Global Technology Summit, Carnegie India’s flagship annual event, co-hosted with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, to be held in New Delhi from December 2 to 4, 2026. Since 1990, the West’s share of the global economy has fallen from roughly 60 percent to just under 40 percent. While China has driven much of that shift, Cable argues that India will dominate the next generation of this transition. He presents three scenarios for what comes next: a reinvented global West that incorporates rising powers like India, a multipolar order of competing spheres of influence, and a reinvented multilateralism that reflects the new structure of global power. The scenario he finds most alarming is the one of multipolarity, where no single actor is responsible for the global commons and coordination on climate, trade, and crisis management becomes exponentially harder. On technology and trusted partnerships, Cable points to a study suggesting China is ahead in the majority of upstream technology areas tracked, with the U.S. and China the only two countries with anything like technological dominance at the frontier. The challenge for countries like India is not just who to work with, but how to balance competition and cooperation, particularly in areas like medicine and renewable energy where collaboration makes more strategic sense than rivalry. On India’s growth outlook, Cable is notably optimistic, pointing to infrastructure investment, a strong digital backbone, a unified domestic market, and a large-educated workforce as the foundations of a fundamentally different trajectory from China, whose structural problems are now very real constraints. Reading: Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World by Vince Cable Every two weeks, Interpreting India brings you diverse voices from India and around the world to explore the critical questions shaping the nation's future. We delve into how technology, the economy, and foreign policy intertwine to influence India's relationship with the global stage. As a Carnegie India production, hosted by Carnegie scholars, Interpreting India, a Carnegie India production, provides insightful perspectives and cutting-edge by tackling the defining questions that chart India's course through the next decade. Stay tuned for thought-provoking discussions, expert insights, and a deeper understanding of India's place in the world. Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to join the conversation and be part of Interpreting India's journey.
