India, Sept. 23 -- China and India have some common ground despite the border issues and wider security concerns. A major global change over the last generation is the relative decline of the West in economic terms vis-a-vis the emerging economies of the Global South. In 1990, the West (including Japan) accounted for around 60% of the world economy. This helped stoke the hubris accompanying the narrative of having "won" the Cold War. The West's share has now shrunk to under 40%, and the relative shrinking continues - emerging economies, led by China and India, are growing substantially faster than even the relatively dynamic US, let alone Europe and Japan.

China accounts for much of this shift. China's prodigious 9-10% annual growth over...