This paper draws upon the available evidence from China and India to compare systematically the economic development performance of the two nations in the modern postwar period. Three broad economic objectives of development are identified: economic growth, economic equity and economic self-reliance. Separate sections of the paper are devoted to a comparison of the progress made by China and India with respect to each of these three objectives. It is concluded that in each respect China has been more successful than India. *The research for this paper was carried out in part with the
financial support of the Twentieth Century Fund. I am indebted also to the Center for Research on Economic Development at the University of Michigan for the use of its facilities during the preparation of the paper, and I am especially grateful to Ms. Ying Quan for her secretarial assistance.