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Both France and United Kingdom along with some other European has shaped the history of our modern world. The historical ties between France and the UK, and the countries preceding them, are long and complex, including conquest, wars, and alliances at various points in history. The Roman era saw both areas, except Scotland and Northern Ireland, conquered by Rome, whose fortifications exist in both countries to this day, and whose writing system introduced a common alphabet to both areas; however, the language barrier remained. The Norman conquest of England in 1066 decisively shaped English history, as well as the English language. In the Middle Ages, France and England were often bitter enemies, with both nations' monarchs claiming control over France, while Scotland was usually allied with France until the Union of the Crowns. Some of the noteworthy conflicts include the Hundred Years' War and the French Revolutionary Wars which were French victories, as well as the Seven Years' War and Napoleonic Wars, from which Great Britain emerged victorious.The last major conflict between the two was the Napoleonic Wars in which coalitions of European powers, financed and usually led by the United Kingdom fought a series of wars against the First French Empire and its client states, culminating in the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. There were some subsequent tensions, especially after 1880, over such issues as the Suez Canal and rivalry for African colonies. Despite some brief war scares, peace always prevailed. Friendly ties between the two began with the 1904 Entente Cordiale, and the British and French were allied against Germany in both World War I and World War II; in the latter conflict, British armies helped to liberate occupied France from the Nazis. Both nations opposed the Soviet Union during the Cold War and were founding members of NATO, the Western military alliance led by the United States. During the 1960s, French President Charles de Gaulle distrusted the British for being too close to the Americans, and for years he blocked British entry into the European Economic Community, now called the European Union. De Gaulle also pulled France out of its active role in NATO because that alliance was too heavily dominated by Washington. After his death, Britain did enter the European Economic Community and France returned to NATO.In recent years the two countries have experienced a quite close relationship, especially on defence and foreign policy issues; the two countries tend, however, to disagree on a range of other matters, most notably the European Union.France and Britain are often still referred to as "historic rivals" or with emphasis on the perceived ever-lasting competition that still opposes the two countries. French author José-Alain Fralon characterised the relationship between the countries by describing the British as "our most dear enemies".Unlike France, the United Kingdom left the European Union in 2020, after it voted to do so in a referendum held on 23 June 2016. It is estimated that about 350,000 French people live in the UK, with approximately 400,000 Britons living in France.France economic strength:The economy of France is highly developed and free-market-oriented. It is the world's seventh-largest economy by 2020 nominal figures and the tenth-largest economy by PPP. As of September 30, 2020, it is the 3rd largest economy of Europe, after the economy of Germany and the United Kingdom.La Défense, the financial hub of France.Paris, a leading global city, has one of the largest city GDP in the world and is the first city in Europe (and 3rd worldwide) for the number of companies classified in Fortune's Fortune Global 500. Paris has been ranked as the 2nd most attractive global city in the world in 2019 by KPMG. La Défense, Paris's Central Business District, was ranked by Ernst & Young in 2017 as the leading business district in continental Europe, and fourth in the world. The OECD is headquartered in Paris, the nation's financial capital. Other major economic centres include Lyon, Toulouse (centre of the European aerospace industry), Marseille, Nice and Bordeaux.France's economy entered the recession of the late 2000s later and appeared to leave it earlier than most affected economies, only enduring four-quarters of contraction.France has nominal GDP of $2.6 trillion and $3.0 trillion by power purchasing parity.A member of the Group of Seven (formerly Group of Eight) leading industrialized countries, as of 2020, it is ranked as the world's tenth-largest and the EU's second-largest economy by purchasing power parity. France joined 11 other EU members to launch the euro in 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc (₣) in 2002.France has a diversified economy, that is dominated by the service sector (which represented in 2017 78.8% of its GDP), whilst the industrial sector accounted for 19.5% of its GDP and the primary sector accounted for the remaining 1.7%. The fifth-largest trading nation in the world (and second in Europe after Germany). It is the third-largest manufacturing country in Europe behind Germany and Italy. France is also the most visited destination in the world, as well as the European Union's leading agricultural power.France was in 2019 the largest Foreign Direct Investment recipient in Europe, Europe's second-largest spender in Research and development, ranked among the 10 most innovative countries in the world by the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index, as well as the 15th most competitive nation globally, according to the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report.According to the IMF, in 2020, France was the world's 20th country by GDP per capita with $39,257 per inhabitant. In 2019, France was listed on the United Nations's Human Development Index with a value of 0.901 (indicating very high human development) and 23rd on the Corruption Perceptions Index in 2019.In 2018, France was the 5th largest trading nation in the world, as well as the second-largest trading nation in Europe (after Germany). In 2008, France was the third-largest recipient of foreign direct investment among OECD countries at $118 billion, ranking behind Luxembourg (where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers to banks located there) and the United States ($316 billion), but above the United Kingdom ($96.9 billion), Germany ($25 billion), or Japan ($24 billion). In the same year, French companies invested $220 billion outside France, ranking France as the second-largest outward direct investor in the OECD, behind the United States ($311 billion), and ahead of the UK ($111 billion), Japan ($128 billion) and Germany ($157 billion).Financial services, banking and the insurance sector are an important part of the economy. The three largest financial institutions cooperatively owned by their customers are located in France. The Paris stock exchange (French: La Bourse de Paris) is an old institution, created by Louis XV in 1724. In 2000, the stock exchanges of Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels merged into Euronext. In 2007, Euronext merged with the New York stock exchange to form NYSE Euronext, the world's largest stock exchange. Euronext Paris, the French branch of the NYSE Euronext group is Europe's 2nd largest stock exchange market, behind the London Stock Exchange. French companies have maintained key positions in the insurance and banking industries: AXA was in 2019 the world's third-largest insurance company by total non-banking assets. The leading French banks are BNP Paribas and the Crédit Agricole, both ranking among the top 10 largest banks by assets according to a 2020 S&P Global Market Intelligence report. According to the same source, Société Générale and Groupe BPCE were in 2020 the world's 17th and 19th largest banks, respectively.France is a member of the Eurozone (around 330 million consumers) which is part of the European Single Market (more than 500 million consumers). Several domestic commercial policies are determined by agreements among European Union (EU) members and by EU legislation. France introduced the common European currency, the Euro in 2002.France is a part of a monetary union known as” EuroZone” (Shown in dark blue), and of the “European Single Market” (shown in light blue).France economic sectors:Agriculture:France has historically been a large producer of agricultural products. Extensive tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and EU subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer and exporter in Europe (representing 20% of the EU's agricultural production) and the world's third-biggest exporter of agricultural products.Wheat, poultry, dairy, beef, and pork, as well as internationally recognized processed foods, are the primary French agricultural exports. Rosé wines are primarily consumed within the country, but Champagne and Bordeaux wines are major exports, being known worldwide. EU agriculture subsidies to France have decreased in recent years but still amounted to $8 billion in 2007. That same year, France sold 33.4 billion euros of transformed agricultural products. France produces rum via sugar cane-based distilleries almost all of which are located in overseas territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe and La Réunion. Agriculture is an important sector of France's economy: 3.8% of the active population is employed in agriculture, whereas the total agri-food industry made up 4.2% of French GDP in 2005.Champagne widely regarded as a luxury good originates from The Champagne region in Northeast France.Tourism:With 89 million international tourist arrivals in 2018, France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (83 million) and the United States (80 million). It is third in income from tourism due to the shorter duration of visits. The most popular tourist sites include (annual visitors): Eiffel Tower (6.2 million), Château de Versailles (2.8 million), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (2 million), Pont du Gard (1.5 million), Arc de Triomphe (1.2 million), Mont Saint-Michel (1 million), Sainte-Chapelle (683,000), Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg (549,000), Puy de Dôme (500,000), Musée Picasso (441,000), and Carcassonne (362,000).The Eiffel Tower is the world’s most-visited paid monument an icon of both Paris and France.France, especially Paris, has some of the world's largest and most renowned museums, including the Louvre, which is the most visited art museum in the world (5.7 million), the Musée d'Orsay (2.1 million), mostly devoted to Impressionism, the Musée de l'Orangerie (1.02 million), which is home to eight large Water Lily murals by Claude Monet, as well as the Centre Georges Pompidou (1.2 million), dedicated to contemporary art. Disneyland Paris is Europe's most popular theme park, with 15 million combined visitors to the resort's Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park in 2009.Energy sector:Électricité de France (EDF), the main electricity generation and distribution company in France, is also one of the world's largest producers of electricity. In 2018, it produced around 20% of the European Union's electricity, primarily from nuclear power. France is the smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the G8, due to its heavy investment in nuclear power. As of 2016, 72% of the electricity produced by France is generated by 58 nuclear power plants. In this context, renewable energies are having difficulty taking off. France also uses hydroelectric dams to produce electricity, such as the Eguzon dam, Étang de Soulcem and Lac de Vouglans. France derives most of its electricity from nuclear power the highest percentage in the world.Transport:The railway network of France, which as of 2008 stretches 29,473 kilometres (18,314 mi) is the second most extensive in Western Europe after that of Germany.It is operated by the SNCF, and high-speed trains include the Thalys, the Eurostar and TGV, which travels at 320 km/h (199 mph) in commercial use. The Eurostar, along with the Eurotunnel Shuttle, connects with the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries in Europe, except Andorra. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both underground services (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Toulouse, Rennes) and tramway services (Nantes, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Montpellier...) complementing bus services.A TGV Duplex crossing the Cize–Bolozon viaduct. The train can reach a maximum speed of 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph).There are approximately 1,027,183 kilometres (638,262 mi) of serviceable roadway in France, ranking it the most extensive network of the European continent. The Paris region is enveloped with the densest network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all parts of the country. French roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighbouring Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Andorra and Monaco. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; however, usage of the mostly privately owned motorways is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The new car market is dominated by domestic brands such as Renault (27% of cars sold in France in 2003), Peugeot (20.1%) and Citroën (13.5%). Over 70% of new cars sold in 2004 had diesel engines, far more than contained petrol or LPG engines. France possesses the Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge, and has built many important bridges such as the Pont de Normandie.There are 464 airports in France. Charles de Gaulle Airport, located in the vicinity of Paris, is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic and connecting Paris with virtually all major cities across the world. Air France is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are ten major ports in France, the largest of which is in Marseille, which also is the largest bordering the Mediterranean Sea. 12,261 kilometres (7,619 mi) of waterways traverse France including the Canal du Midi, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean through the Garonne river.Air France is one of the biggest Airlines in the world.Science and Technology:Since the Middle Ages, France has been a major contributor to scientific and technological achievement. Around the beginning of the 11th century, Pope Sylvester II, born Gerbert d'Aurillac, reintroduced the abacus and armillary sphere and introduced Arabic numerals and clocks to Northern and Western Europe.The University of Paris, founded in the mid-12th century, is still one of the most important universities in the Western world. In the 17th century, mathematician René Descartes defined a method for the acquisition of scientific knowledge, while Blaise Pascal became famous for his work on probability and fluid mechanics. They were both key figures of the Scientific Revolution, which blossomed in Europe during this period. The Academy of Sciences was founded by Louis XIV to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is one of the earliest academies of sciences.The Age of Enlightenment was marked by the work of biologist Buffon and chemist Lavoisier, who discovered the role of oxygen in combustion, while Diderot and D'Alembert published the Encyclopédie, which aimed to give access to "useful knowledge" to the people, a knowledge that they can apply to their everyday life. With the Industrial Revolution, the 19th century saw spectacular scientific developments in France with scientists such as Augustin Fresnel, founder of modern optics, Sadi Carnot who laid the foundations of thermodynamics, and Louis Pasteur, a pioneer of microbiology. Other eminent French scientists of the 19th century have their names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.Famous French scientists of the 20th century include the mathematician and physicist Henri Poincaré, physicists Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie, who remained famous for their work on radioactivity, the physicist Paul Langevin and virologist Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of HIV AIDS. Hand transplantation was developed on 23 September 1998 in Lyon by a team assembled from different countries around the world including Jean-Michel Dubernard who, shortly thereafter, performed the first successful double hand transplant. Telesurgery was developed by Jacques Marescaux and his team on 7 September 2001 across the Atlantic Ocean (New York-Strasbourg, Lindbergh Operation). A face transplant was first done on 27 November 2005 by Dr Bernard Devauchelle.France was the fourth country to achieve the nuclear capability and has the third-largest nuclear weapons arsenal in the world. It is also a leader in civilian nuclear technology. France was the third nation, after the former USSR and the United States, to launch its own space satellite and remains the biggest contributor to the European Space Agency (ESA). The European Airbus, formed from the French group Aérospatiale along with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA), designs and develops civil and military aircraft as well as communications systems, missiles, space rockets, helicopters, satellites, and related systems. France also hosts major international research instruments such as the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility or the Institut Laue–Langevin and remains a major member of CERN. It also owns Minatec, Europe's leading nanotechnology research centre.The SNCF, the French national railroad company, has developed the TGV, a high-speed train that holds a series of world speed records. The TGV has been the fastest wheeled train in commercial use since reaching a speed of 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) on 3 April 2007. Western Europe is now serviced by a network of TGV lines.The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) has been ranked by the Nature Index 2020 as the fourth institution with the highest share of articles published in scientific journals in the world. France itself was the 6th nation globally with the highest share of articles published in scientific journals according to the Nature Index 2020, which is valid for the calendar year 2019.As of 2018, 69 French people have been awarded a Nobel Prize and 12 have received the Fields Medal.Now, let us return to the military might of France:France has the sixth-largest defence budget in the world and the first in the European Union (EU). It has the largest armed forces in size in the European Union. According to Credit Suisse, the French Armed Forces are ranked as the world's sixth-most powerful military.The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas including modern France, greater Europe, and French territorial possessions overseas. According to British historian Niall Ferguson, the French participated in 50 of the 125 major European wars that have been fought since 1495; more than any other European state. They are followed by the Austrians who fought in 47 of them, the Spanish in 44 and the English (and later British) who were involved in 43. Besides, out of all recorded conflicts which occurred since the year 387 BC, France has fought in 168 of them, won 109, lost 49 and drawn 10; thus making France the most successful military power in European history.In the Middle Ages, rivalries with England and the Holy Roman Empire prompted major conflicts such as the Norman Conquest and the Hundred Years' War. With an increasingly centralized monarchy, the first standing army since Roman times, and the use of artillery, France expelled the English from its territory and came out of the Middle Ages as the most powerful nation in Europe, only to lose that status to Spain following defeat in the Italian Wars. The Wars of Religion crippled France in the late 16th century, but a major victory over Spain in the Thirty Years' War made France the most powerful nation on the continent once more. In parallel, France developed its first colonial empire in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Under Louis XIV, France achieved military supremacy over its rivals, but escalating conflicts against increasingly powerful enemy coalitions checked French ambitions and left the kingdom bankrupt at the opening of the 18th century.Resurgent French armies secured victories in dynastic conflicts against the Spanish, Polish, and Austrian crowns. At the same time, France was fending off attacks on its colonies. As the 18th century advanced, global competition with Great Britain led to the Seven Years' War, where France lost its North American holdings. Consolation came in the form of dominance in Europe and the American Revolutionary War, where extensive French aid in the form of money and arms, and the direct participation of its army and navy led to America's independence.[4] Internal political upheaval eventually led to 23 years of nearly continuous conflict in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. France reached the zenith of its power during this period, dominating the European continent in an unprecedented fashion under Napoleon Bonaparte, but by 1815 it had been restored to its pre-Revolutionary borders. The rest of the 19th century witnessed the growth of the Second French colonial empire as well as French interventions in Belgium, Spain, and Mexico. Other major wars were fought against Russia in the Crimea, Austria in Italy, and Prussia within France itself.Following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the Franco-German rivalry erupted again in the First World War. France and its allies were victorious this time. Social, political, and economic upheaval in the wake of the conflict led to the Second World War, in which the Allies were defeated in the Battle of France and the French government surrendered and was replaced with an authoritarian regime. The Allies, including the government in exile's Free French Forces and later a liberated French nation, eventually emerged victorious over the Axis powers. As a result, France secured an occupation zone in Germany and a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The imperative of avoiding a third Franco-German conflict on the scale of those of two world wars paved the way for European integration starting in the 1950s. France became a nuclear power and since the 1990s its military action is most often seen in cooperation with NATO and its European partners.France is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, but is not known to possess or develop any chemical or biological weapons. France was the fourth country to test an independently developed nuclear weapon, doing so in 1960 under the government of Charles de Gaulle. The French military is currently thought to retain a weapons stockpile of around 300 operational (deployed) nuclear warheads, making it the third-largest in the world, speaking in terms of warheads, not megatons.[7] The weapons are part of the national Force de frappe, developed in the late 1950s and 1960s to give France the ability to distance itself from NATO while having a means of nuclear deterrence under sovereign control.France did not sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which gave it the option to conduct further nuclear tests until it signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 and 1998 respectively. France denies currently having chemical weapons, ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1995, and acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1984. France had also ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1926.The French Armed Forces (Forces armées françaises) are the military and paramilitary forces of France, under the President of the Republic as supreme commander. They consist of the French Army (Armée de Terre), French Navy (Marine Nationale, formerly called Armée de Mer), the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l’Espace), and the Military Police called National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale), which also fulfils civil police duties in the rural areas of France. Together they are among the largest armed forces in the world and the largest in the EU. According to a 2018 study by Crédit Suisse, the French Armed Forces are ranked as the world's sixth-most powerful military, and the most powerful in Europe, only behind Russia.France the sixth most powerful military on Earth and the third-biggest nuclear power by warheads.France has a special military corps, the French Foreign Legion, founded in 1830, which consists of foreign nationals from over 140 countries who are willing to serve in the French Armed Forces and become French citizens after the end of their service period. The only other countries having similar units are Spain (the Spanish Foreign Legion, called Tercio, was founded in 1920) and Luxembourg (foreigners can serve in the National Army provided they speak Luxembourgish).France is a permanent member of the Security Council of the UN and a recognised nuclear state since 1960. France has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. France's annual military expenditure in 2018 was US$63.8 billion, or 2.3% of its GDP, making it the fifth biggest military spender in the world after the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, and India.The current French nuclear force consists of four Triomphant class submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In addition to the submarine fleet, it is estimated that France has about 60 ASMP medium-range air-to-ground missiles with nuclear warheads, of which around 50 are deployed by the Air and Space Force using the Mirage 2000N long-range nuclear strike aircraft, while around 10 are deployed by the French Navy's Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) attack aircraft, which operate from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The new Rafale F3 aircraft will gradually replace all Mirage 2000N and SEM in the nuclear strike role with the improved ASMP-A missile with a nuclear warhead.France has major military industries with one of the largest aerospace industries in the world. Its industries have produced such equipment as the Rafale fighter, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the Exocet missile and the Leclerc tank among others. Despite withdrawing from the Eurofighter project, France is actively investing in European joint projects such as the Eurocopter Tiger, multipurpose frigates, the UCAV demonstrator nEUROn and the Airbus A400M. France is a major arms seller, with most of its arsenal's designs available for the export market with the notable exception of nuclear-powered devices.France has consistently developed its cybersecurity capabilities, which are regularly ranked as some of the most robust of any nation in the world.The Bastille Day military parade held in Paris each 14 July for France's national day, called Bastille Day in English-speaking countries (referred to in France as Fête Nationale), is the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe. Other smaller parades are organised across the country.Now let's see the economic and military strength of friendly rival of France the United Kingdom Of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The economic strength of the United Kingdom:The economy of the United Kingdom is a highly developed social market and market-orientated economy. It is the fifth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), ninth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP), and twenty first-largest by GDP per capita, constituting 3.3% of world GDP.London the historic capital and financial centre of the United Kingdom.The UK is one of the most globalised economies and comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2019, the UK was the fifth-largest exporter in the world and the fifth-largest importer. It also had the third-largest inward foreign direct investment and the fifth-largest outward foreign direct investment. In 2020, the UK's trade with the 27 member states of the European Union accounted for 49% of the country's exports and 52% of its imports.The service sector dominates, contributing around 80% of GDP; the financial services industry is particularly important, and London is the second-largest financial centre in the world.Edinburgh is ranked 17th in the world, and 6th in Europe for its financial services industry in 2021. Britain's aerospace industry is the second-largest national aerospace industry. Its pharmaceutical industry, the tenth-largest in the world, plays an important role in the economy. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 26 are headquartered in the UK. The economy is boosted by North Sea oil and gas production; its reserves were estimated at 2.8 billion barrels in 2016, although it has been a net importer of oil since 2005. There are significant regional variations in prosperity, with South East England and North East Scotland being the richest areas per capita. The size of London's economy makes it the largest city by GDP per capita in Europe.In the 18th century, the UK was the first country to industrialise, and during the 19th century, it had a dominant role in the global economy, accounting for 9.1% of the world's GDP in 1870. The Second Industrial Revolution was also taking place rapidly in the United States and the German Empire; this presented an increasing economic challenge for the UK. The costs of fighting World War I and World War II further weakened the UK's relative position. In the 18th century, the UK was the first country to industrialise, and during the 19th century, it had a dominant role in the global economy, accounting for 9.1% of the world's GDP in 1870. The Second Industrial Revolution was also taking place rapidly in the United States and the German Empire; this presented an increasing economic challenge for the UK. The costs of fighting World War I and World War II further weakened the UK's relative position. In the 21st century, the UK retains the ability to project power and influence around the world.Government involvement is primarily exercised by Her Majesty's Treasury, headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Since 1979 management of the economy has followed a broad laissez-faire approach. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank, and since 1997 its Monetary Policy Committee has been responsible for setting interest rates, quantitative easing, and forward guidance.The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, which is the world's fourth-largest reserve currency after the United States dollar, the Euro and the Japanese yen, and is also one of the 10 most valued currencies in the world.The UK is a member of the Commonwealth, the G7, the G20, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, NATO, the United Nations Security Council, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the United Nations.As of 2021, Britain has nominal GDP of $2.64 trillion fifth largest and biggest.And is the world’s 9th largest and biggest by power purchasing parity of $2.98 trillion.it has the 21st highest GDP per capita $39,229 making it one of the richest and highly advanced country in Europe and the World.The UK service sector makes up around 79 per cent of GDP. London is one of the world's largest financial centres, ranking 2nd in the world, behind New York City, in the Global Financial Centres Index in 2020.London also has the largest city GDP in Europe. Edinburgh ranks 17th in the world, and 6th in Western Europe in the Global Financial Centres Index in 2020. Tourism is very important to the British economy; with over 27 million tourists arriving in 2004, the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world and London has the most international visitors of any city in the world. The creative industries accounted for 7 per cent GVA in 2005 and grew at an average of 6 per cent per annum between 1997 and 2005.Following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, the functioning of the UK internal economic market is enshrined by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 which ensures trade in goods and services continues without internal barriers across the four countries of the United Kingdom.The Industrial Revolution started in the UK with an initial concentration on the textile industry, followed by other heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining and steelmaking. British merchants, shippers and bankers developed an overwhelming advantage over those of other nations allowing the UK to dominate international trade in the 19th century. As other nations industrialised, coupled with economic decline after two world wars, the United Kingdom began to lose its competitive advantage and heavy industry declined, by degrees, throughout the 20th century. Manufacturing remains a significant part of the economy but accounted for only 16.7 per cent of national output in 2003.The automotive industry employs around 800,000 people, with a turnover in 2015 of £70 billion, generating £34.6 billion of exports (11.8 per cent of the UK's total export goods). In 2015, the UK produced around 1.6 million passenger vehicles and 94,500 commercial vehicles. The UK is a major centre for engine manufacturing: in 2015 around 2.4 million engines were produced. The UK motorsport industry employs around 41,000 people, comprises around 4,500 companies and has an annual turnover of around £6 billion.The aerospace industry of the UK is the second or third-largest national aerospace industry in the world depending upon the method of measurement and has an annual turnover of around £30 billion.Jaguar XE Jaguar cars are manufactured, designed and developed in the United Kingdom.BAE Systems plays a critical role in some of the world's biggest defence aerospace projects. In the UK, the company makes large sections of the Typhoon Eurofighter and assembles the aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It is also a principal subcontractor on the F35 Joint Strike Fighter – the world's largest single defence project – for which it designs and manufactures a range of components. It also manufactures the Hawk, the world's most successful jet training aircraft. Airbus UK also manufactures the wings for the A400 m military transporter. Rolls-Royce is the world's second-largest aero-engine manufacturer. Its engines power more than 30 types of commercial aircraft and it has more than 30,000 engines in service in the civil and defence sectors.The UK space industry was worth £9.1bn in 2011 and employed 29,000 people. It is growing at a rate of 7.5 per cent annually, according to its umbrella organisation, the UK Space Agency. In 2013, the British Government pledged £60 m to the Skylon project: this investment will provide support at a "crucial stage" to allow a full-scale prototype of the SABRE engine to be built.The pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in the UK economy and the country has the third-highest share of global pharmaceutical R&D expenditures.Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised and efficient by European standards, producing about 60 per cent of food needs with less than 1.6 per cent of the labour force (535,000 workers). Around two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops. The UK retains a significant, though much-reduced fishing industry. It is also rich in a number of natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica and an abundance of arable land.In the final quarter of 2008, the UK economy officially entered recession for the first time since 1991. Following the likes of the United States, France and many major economies, in 2013, the UK lost its top AAA credit rating for the first time since 1978 with Moodys and Fitch credit agency, but, unlike the other major economies, retained its triple-A rating with Standard & Poors.By the end of 2014, UK growth was the fastest in both the G7 and in Europe, and by September 2015, the unemployment rate was down to a seven-year low of 5.3 per cent. In 2020, coronavirus lockdown measures caused the UK economy to suffer its biggest slump on record, shrinking by 20.4 per cent between April and June compared to the first three months of the year, to push it officially into recession for the first time in 11 years.The UK has an external debt of $9.6 trillion dollars, which is the second-highest in the world after the US. As a percentage of GDP, external debt is 408 per cent, which is the third-highest in the world after Luxembourg and Iceland.Canary Wharf and the City Of London both are financial centres of UK.During the Second World War, the UK was one of the Big Three powers (along with the U.S. and the Soviet Union) who met to plan the post-war world; it was an original signatory to the Declaration by United Nations. After the war, the UK became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and worked closely with the United States to establish the IMF, World Bank and NATO. The war left the UK severely weakened and financially dependent on the Marshall Plan, but it was spared the total war that devastated eastern Europe. In the immediate post-war years, the Labour government initiated a radical programme of reforms, which had a significant effect on British society in the following decades. Major industries and public utilities were nationalised, a welfare state was established, and a comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service, was created. The rise of nationalism in the colonies coincided with Britain's now much-diminished economic position so that a policy of decolonisation was unavoidable. Independence was granted to India and Pakistan in 1947. Over the next three decades, most colonies of the British Empire gained their independence, with all those that sought independence supported by the UK, during both the transition period and afterwards. Many became members of the Commonwealth of Nations.The UK was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test in 1952), but the new post-war limits of Britain's international role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis of 1956. The international spread of the English language ensured the continuing international influence of its literature and culture. As a result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries. In the following decades, the UK became a more multi-ethnic society than before. Despite rising living standards in the late 1950s and 1960s, the UK's economic performance was less successful than many of its main competitors such as France, West Germany and Japan.In the decades-long process of European integration, the UK was a founding member of the alliance called the Western European Union, established with the London and Paris Conferences in 1954. In 1960 the UK was one of the seven founding members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but in 1973 it left to join the European Communities (EC). When the EC became the European Union (EU) in 1992, the UK was one of the 12 founding members. The Treaty of Lisbon, signed in 2007, forms the constitutional basis of the European Union since then.Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in the 1970s, the Conservative government of the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy of monetarism, deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others.[142] From 1984, the economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues.Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK is still a key global player diplomatically and militarily. It plays leading roles in the UN and NATO. Controversy surrounds some of Britain's overseas military deployments, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq.The coalition government of 2010 introduced austerity measures intended to tackle the substantial public deficits which resulted. In 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The UK remained a full member of the EU until 31 January 2020.The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the UK. Emergency financial measures (such as the furlough scheme) and controls on movement (known as lockdown measures) have been put in place. The number of people who have died from the virus in the UK has exceeded 100,000.The military strength of the United Kingdom Of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:The British Armed Forces are also known as Her Majesty Armed Forces. responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and the Crown dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.Since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (later succeeded by the United Kingdom), the armed forces have seen action in a number of major wars involving the world's great powers, including the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the First World War, and the Second World War. Repeatedly emerging victorious from conflicts has allowed Britain to establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers. Today, the British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 79 commissioned ships, together with the Royal Marines, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force; the British Army, the UK's principal land warfare branch; and the Royal Air Force, a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The British Armed Forces include standing forces, Regular Reserve, Volunteer Reserves and Sponsored Reserves.The Head of the Armed Forces is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, to whom members of the forces swear allegiance. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has vested de facto executive authority, by the exercise of Royal Prerogative, in the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence. The Prime Minister (acting with the Cabinet) makes the key decisions on the use of the armed force. The UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the British Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines among all other forces do not require this act. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, headed by the Secretary of State for Defence.The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear powers, is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is a founding and leading member of the NATO military alliance, and is a party to the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Overseas garrisons and training facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Bahrain, Belize, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, Montserrat, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore and the United States.During the later half of the seventeenth century, and in particular, throughout the eighteenth century, British foreign policy sought to contain the expansion of rival European powers through military, diplomatic and commercial means – especially of its chief competitors; Spain, the Netherlands and France. This saw Britain engage in a number of intense conflicts over colonial possessions and world trade, including a long string of Anglo-Spanish and Anglo-Dutch wars, as well as a series of "world wars" with France, such as; the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). During the Napoleonic wars, the Royal Navy victory at Trafalgar (1805) under the command of Horatio Nelson (aboard HMS Victory) marked the culmination of British maritime supremacy and left the Navy in a position of uncontested hegemony at sea. By 1815 and the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had risen to become the world's dominant great power and the British Empire subsequently presided over a period of relative peace, known as Pax Britannica.With Britain's old rivals no longer a threat, the nineteenth century saw the emergence of a new rival, the Russian Empire, and a strategic competition in what became known as The Great Game for supremacy in Central Asia. Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India. In response, Britain undertook a number of pre-emptive actions against perceived Russian ambitions, including the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842), the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880) and the British expedition to Tibet (1903–1904). During this period, Britain also sought to maintain the balance of power in Europe, particularly against Russian expansionism, who at the expense of the waning Ottoman Empire had ambitions to "carve up the European part of Turkey". This ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War (1854–1856) against the Russian Empire.The beginning of the twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire. The era brought about an Anglo-German naval arms race which encouraged significant advancements in maritime technology (e.g. Dreadnoughts, torpedoes and submarines), and in 1906, Britain had determined that its only likely naval enemy was Germany.The accumulated tensions in European relations finally broke out into the hostilities of the First World War (1914–1918), in what is recognised today, as the most devastating war in British military history, with nearly 800,000 men killed and over 2 million wounded. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles and the establishment of the League of Nations.Although Germany had been defeated during the First World War, by 1933 fascism had given rise to Nazi Germany, which under the leadership of Adolf Hitler re-militarised in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. Once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began (1939–1945). The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East and the Far East. Approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops lost their lives. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations (replacing the League of Nations).According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the United Kingdom has the fourth- or eighth-largest defence budget in the world.For comparison's sake, this sees Britain spending more in absolute terms than France, Germany, India or Japan, a similar amount to that of Russia, but less than China, Saudi Arabia or the United States. In September 2011, according to Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute, current "planned levels of defence spending should be enough for the United Kingdom to maintain its position as one of the world's top military powers, as well as being one of NATO-Europe's top military powers. Its edge – not least its qualitative edge – in relation to rising Asian powers seems set to erode, but will remain significant well into the 2020s, and possibly beyond." The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence and announced a £178 billion investment over ten years in new equipment and capabilities.The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear-weapon states under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and maintains an independent nuclear deterrent, currently consisting of four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines, UGM-133 Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and 160 operational thermonuclear warheads. This is known as Trident in both public and political discourse (with nomenclature taken after the UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missile). Trident is operated by the Royal Navy Submarine Service, charged with delivering a 'Continuous At-Sea Deterrent' (CASD) capability, whereby one of the Vanguard-class strategic submarines is always on patrol.According to the British Government, since the introduction of Polaris (Tridents predecessor) in the 1960s, from April 1969 "the Royal Navy’s ballistic missile boats have not missed a single day on patrol", giving what the Defence Council described in 1980 as a deterrent "effectively invulnerable to pre-emptive attack".In contrast with the other recognised nuclear-weapon states, the United Kingdom operates only a submarine-based delivery system, having decommissioned its tactical WE.177 free-fall bombs in 1998.The House of Commons voted on 18 July 2016 in favour of replacing the Vanguard-class submarines with a new generation of Dreadnought-class submarines. The programme will also contribute to extending the life of the UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles and modernise the infrastructure associated with the CASD.Former weapons of mass destruction possessed by the United Kingdom include both biological and chemical weapons. These were renounced in 1956 and subsequently destroyed.The British Armed Forces maintain a number of overseas garrisons and military facilities which enable the country to conduct operations worldwide. All of Britain's permanent military installations are located on British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom and located in areas of strategic importance. The most significant of these is the "Permanent Joint Operating Bases" (PJOBs), located on the four overseas territories of Cyprus (British Forces Cyprus), Gibraltar (British Forces Gibraltar), the Falkland Islands (British Forces South Atlantic Islands) and Diego Garcia (British Forces British Indian Ocean Territories). While not a PJOB, Ascension Island (another BOT) is home to the airbase RAF Ascension Island, notable for use as a staging post during the 1982 Falklands War, the territory is also the site of a joint UK-US signals intelligence facility.Qatar is home to RAF Al Udeid, a Royal Air Force outpost at Al Udeid Air Base which serves as the operational headquarters for No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group and its operations across the Middle East. A large Royal Navy Naval Support Facility (NSF) is located in Bahrain, established in 2016 it marks the British return East of Suez. In support of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), the United Kingdom retains a naval repair and logistics support facility at Sembawang wharf, Singapore. Other overseas military installations include; British Forces Brunei, British Forces Germany, the British Army Training Unit Kenya, British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada, British Army Training and Support Unit Belize, and British Gurkhas Nepal.Some British Overseas Territories also maintain locally raised units and regiments; The Royal Bermuda Regiment, the Falkland Islands Defence Force, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and the Royal Montserrat Defence Force. Though their primary mission is "home defence", individuals have volunteered for operational duties. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment mobilised section-sized units for attachment to British regiments deployed during the Iraq War. The Isle of Man, a Crown dependency hosts a multi-capability recruiting and training unit of the British Army Reserve.Since 1969 Britain has had a military satellite communications system, Skynet, initially in large part to support East of Suez bases and deployments. Since 2015 Skynet has offered near-global coverage.Royal Navy:The Royal Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force, and as of January 2021 consists of 79 commissioned ships with an additional 13 support vessels of various types operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Fleet Commander of the Naval Service. Personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral.The Surface Fleet consists of aircraft carriers, amphibious warfare ships, destroyers, frigates, patrol vessels, mine-countermeasure vessels, and other miscellaneous vessels. The Surface Fleet has been structured around a single fleet since the abolition of the Eastern and Western fleets in 1971. The recently built Type 45 destroyers are technologically advanced air-defence destroyers. The Royal Navy has commissioned two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, embarking an air-group including the advanced fifth-generation multi-role fighter, the F-35B.A submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years. The Submarine Service's four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered submarines carry Lockheed Martin's Trident II ballistic missiles, forming the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. Seven Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines have been ordered, with four completed and three under construction. The Astute class are the most advanced and largest fleet submarines ever built for the Royal Navy and will maintain Britain's nuclear-powered submarine fleet capabilities for decades to come.Royal marines:The Royal Marines are the Royal Navy's amphibious troops. Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (3 Commando) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious, arctic, and mountain warfare.[73] Contained within 3 Commando Brigade are three attached army units; 383 Commando Petroleum Troop RLC, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, a field artillery regiment based in Plymouth, and 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers.[74] The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy.British Ground Forces:The British Army is made up of the Regular Army and the Army Reserve. The army has a single command structure based at Andover and known as "Army Headquarters". Deployable combat formations consist of two divisions (1st Armoured and 3rd Mechanised) and eight brigades. Within the United Kingdom, operational and non-deployable units are administered by two divisions, Force Troops Command, and London District.The Army has 50 battalions (36 regular and 14 reserves) of regular and reserve infantry, organised into 17 regiments. The majority of infantry regiments contains multiple regular and reserve battalions. Modern infantry has diverse capabilities and this is reflected in the varied roles assigned to them. There are four operational roles that infantry battalions can fulfil: air assault, armoured infantry, mechanised infantry, and light role infantry. Regiments and battalions e.g.: the Parachute Regiment, exist within every corps of the Army, functioning as administrative or tactical formations.Armoured regiments are equivalent to an infantry battalion. There are 14 armoured regiments within the army, ten regular and four yeomanry (armoured reserve), of which four are designated as "Armoured", three as "Armoured Cavalry", and six as "Light Cavalry". Army 2020 Refine has seen developments which will further modify the Royal Armoured Corps. with two existing regiments forming the core of two new STRIKE Brigades. These two regiments, along with the Armoured Cavalry will be equipped with the "Ajax" armoured fighting vehicle, a new £3.5 billion procurement programme. The Ajax will be employed in the task organisation and roles of both Armoured Cavalry and Medium Armour. With a slight exception of the Household Cavalry, which maintains quasi-autonomy within the Household Division, armoured regiments and their yeomanry counterparts collectively form the Royal Armoured Corps.Arms and support units are also formed into similar collectives organised around specific purposes, such as the Corps of Royal Engineers, Army Air Corps and Royal Army Medical Corps.Royal Air Force:The Royal Air Force has a large operational fleet that fulfils various roles, consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Frontline aircraft are controlled by Air Command, which is organised into five groups defined by function: 1 Group (Air Combat), 2 Group (Air Support), 11 Group (Air and Space operations), 22 Group (training aircraft and ground facilities) and 38 Group (Royal Air Force's Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Operations units). In addition 83 Expeditionary Air Group directs formations in the Middle East and the 38 Group combines the expeditionary combat support and combat service support units of the RAF. Deployable formations consist of Expeditionary Air Wings and squadrons—the basic unit of the Air Force. Independent flights are deployed to facilities in Afghanistan, the Falkland Islands, Iraq, and the United States.The Royal Air Forces operate multi-role and single-role fighters, reconnaissance and patrol aircraft, tankers, transports, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and various types of training aircraft. Ground units are also maintained by the Royal Air Force, most prominently the RAF Police and the Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regt). The Royal Air Force Regiment essentially functions as the ground defence force of the RAF, optimised for the specialist role of fighting on and around forward airfields, which are densely packed with operationally vital aircraft, equipment, infrastructure and personnel. The Regiment contains nine regular squadrons, supported by five squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment. In addition, it provides the UK's specialist Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear capability. It also provides half of the UK's Forward Air Controllers and the RAF's contribution to the Special Forces Support Group. By March 2008, the three remaining Ground Based Air Defence squadrons (equipped with Rapier Field Standard C) had disbanded or re-rolled and their responsibilities transferred to the British Army's Royal Artillery.I provided this long, boring argument for you. It’s up to you to decide who is more powerful.But if you look at facts and statistics United Kingdom Of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a much more powerful and bigger economic and military beast.France has the seventh most powerful military in the world whereas Britain has the eighth-most powerful military in the world.France is the seventh biggest economy nominally with a GDP of $2.551 trillion dollars and tenth-largest by power purchasing parity GDP of $2.954 dollars.The United Kingdom has the 5th largest economy nominally with a GDP of $2.638 trillion dollars and 9th largest by power purchasing parity GDP of $2.979 trillion dollars.France has $39,257 GDP per capita which ranks 20th in the world and United Kingdom has $39,229 GDP per Capita which ranks 21st in the world.Both are NATO allies and maintain permanent seats in the UN security council both are considered major world powers.

There was no visible Modi wave in 2019 general elections and no ‘experts’ predicted a massive win for ruling BJP after demonitization and botched GST rollout. One single event which benefited BJP forming Modi 2.0 government is undoubtedly ‘Balakot’ action by IAF (Indian Air Force). Modi also said ‘if IAF had Rafale prior to Februry 29 2019 areal battle, the result could have been different’. Modi government should give high priority to defence and specially, IAF’s depletion of fighter squadrons. The IAF lost 27 aircraft, including 15 fighter (nearly one squadron) jets and helicopters, in crashes since 2016, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said in Parliament on 26 June 2019 (27 loss in 18 months!). Modi 2.0 government started with increased allowance to family of armed forces martyrs in his first meeting after forming government and Defence Minister had his first meeting with DRDO to speedup delivery of in-house developed products. This shows Modi 2.0 government is keen to focus on defence sector which was neglected during 10 years of UPA time.https://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/iaf-lost-27-aircraft-including-15-fighter-jets-and-choppers-in-crashes-since-2016-government/articleshow/69959197.cmsThere was major delay by Indian government to order French Rafale fighter during UPA tenure under Defence minister AK Antony. The negotiations dragged on for nearly five years due to shortage of money to buy 126 Rafale until final agreement was signed in 2016 by Modi government. An ‘out of the box’ solution was selected to buy 36 Rafale due to shortage of money and ongoing force depletion at Indian Air Force (IAF). As the negotiations was moving foreword and backward during UPA era, then IAF’s chief Arup Raha said ‘as far as Rafale is concerned, there is no second option or plan B’. Just before retiring he said ‘Over the next 10 years, we must have 200-250 aircraft. It has to be balanced out. In the heavy weight spectrum (Su-30MKI and Mig-29), we have enough. But in the medium weight category, we need to have more. Yes, about 200 will be very good’. Raha also said the IAF’s Russian-origin Ilyushin-78 tanker fleet was plagued by maintenance problems and leading multipurpose fighter jet Su-30MKI has engine and serviceability problem with 55% availability. Modi 2.0 government should focus maximum on this 200 medium category fighter jet.IAF should ask ‘how many squadron of fighter jets India need to fight a two front China-Pakistan joint war?’ Many news article says India needs at least 42 squadrons for this without giving the logic for this magical number. This magical figure of 42 remains static for last 3 decades. Meanwhile Indian economy has become 10 times bigger than Pakistani economy and Chinese economy is 5 times bigger than India. Pakistan also has poorer economic conditions as compared to 1980s. So two squadron IAF Rafale jets will be sufficient for Pakistan. However, China is a different ball game together. China has many Russian SU-27 derivatives like J-11, J-15 and latest Su-35 etc. its 4 plus generation jet planes are 4 times more than India in numbers. China also has in-house Stealth jet planes like J-20 & J-31 which India has no match. So IAF should keep 70 percent of its resources focused to China.Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa has directed the IAF commanders in April 2017 to prepare for short duration but intense wars of 10 days in case of Pakistan and 15 days with respect to China to maintain razor-sharp operational preparedness and enhanced combat effectiveness. Is India prepared? India should target 1000 BrahMos II (extended 450 km range) for Pakistan. Similarly India should plan for 10000 BrahMos II towards China during initial few days of war. Yes, 10000 BrahMos II can deter China from mis adventures like Dokolam. These conventional Brahmos II should target every road, bridge, airfield, garrison compounds and other economic targets. Fortunately, BrahMos has become a Rs 40000 crore company, many of its production is outsourced to private Indian players like Godrej, L&T etc. IAF plans to equip 40 Su-30MKI with 2.5 ton air-to-ground BrahMos missile by December 2020 but this appears remote considering how slow HAL works. IAF already tested air launched Brahmos from modified Su-30MKI twice, first being on November 2017. This is a landmark event which enables IAF to pin point target any locations in entire Pakistan and 400 KM border area with China without crossing the border. This modified and hardened Su 30 MKI is called “super Sukhoi” and IAF should convert its entire inventory of 272 Su-30MKI to ‘super Sukhoi’ with latest Russian engine AL-41F and ASEA radar to fire air launched BrahMos/BrahMos II and lighter BrahMos-NG.Army faces lack of roads in border areas for faster troop movement. Incidents such as the January 2018 incursion by a Chinese road construction party nearly 2 km into Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh's Toting area highlights major security breach along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Also, it took the Dalai Lama four days on a treacherous 500-km road, after his helicopter couldn’t take off due to bad weather, to get to Tawang. He was in the hill town for four days (April 7-10 2017) to perform religious event which angered China so much that they lodged a protest to Indian ambassador in Beijing. Imagine in a war like scenario, a bad weather like this may completely stranded Indian Army. That will increase IAF role many fold. Despite major push for road building plans of Army / BRO, every KM of China border cannot be manned by army / ITBP personnel. Areal help like IAF, drone and useful satellite images are must for complete border protection. Recent crash of An-32 transport plane (on June 3 2019) at Mechuka in Arunachal and subsequent delay in locating the plane proved insufficient radar coverage and satellite tracking in that critical area. This is where IAF’s Chinook helicopter and large fleet for multi role helicopters come into play.IAF has about 600 helicopters but need around 2000 helicopters in the Himalayan border only. Russian origin helicopter fleet of Mi-8 or Mi-17v5 are performing well. Government should buy this helicopter more or make them in India under a JV. Government should speed up aging Chetak/Cheetah helicopter replacement plan with Russian Ka-226T and HAL’s Dhruva/Rudra. There is hardly any movement to aquire Ka-226T helicopter despite in news since Modi came to power in 2014.IAF had taken some good initiatives during Modi government. They activated few new airports in Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir where they can land their biggest C-17 cargo planes. An airport started in Sikkim and almost all advance landing ground (ALG) are operational in Arunachal and Jammu & Kashmir. IAF landed frontline fighter Su-30MKI in Agartala civil airport in 2016 and again in May 2019 after gap fo 45 years which was used insensitively during 1971 war. IAF is also testing emergency landing at specially designed highways and small defunct airports like Juhu Airport in Mumbai. Small defunct airports like Safdarjung (Delhi), Kota (Rajasthan), Asansol (private airport in West Bengal) etc. should be made to be used by IAF for emergency. In May 2017, Highway minister Nitin Gadkari said that government is working on the project to make 17 IAF runway stretches on highways, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence. Why this kind of initiative not done in 10 year Congress rule (2004-2014) when rival Pakistan developed jet landing facility way back in year 2002 and China much before that but India did the same in May 2015 at Yamuna expressway and in November 2016 at newly developed Agra-Lucknow expressway after NDA II government taking over. The proposed 17 IAF runway stretches on highway should remain confidential.Despite these infrastructure development for IAF in Arunachal and Jammu & Kashmir, Myanmar border is completely neglected by IAF. There are no IAF assets in Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. Chinese PLA air force and army can reach north-east states like Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Andamans from northern Myanmar. China is building infrastructure in Myanmar and also building ports to access Indian Ocean. Chinese air force has some altitude related disadvantages in high Tibetian plateau with rarified oxygen levels. Although China developed good air force related infrastructure in Tibet, PLAAF military planes can only operate with less than full capacity of fuel and weapons, operating from Tibet. During 1962 war, China had no air bases in Tibet and there was concern both in New Delhi and Washingtion that China’s PLAAF may attack India from Yunan province of China overflying northern Myanmar. Also middle sector of Tibet border consisting Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand needs airport infrastructure as China has built airfield at Lipsuk.During WWII, Japanese forces landed in South Andamans on March 23, 1942 and in the next three to four hours gained complete control over the area uncontested. Japanese control over the Andamans coincided with the Indian National Army (INA)’s control over the area and hoising of Indian flag for the first time. The swift Japanese operation proved that during British era, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force never planned any military protection for Ananamans which was just a penal outpost with famed Cellular jail for the British. The British garrison at Andamans surrendered without a fight and all the Indian soldiers were interned and were given a choice of joining the Indian National Army (INA), which many accepted and those few not accepted joining INA were tormented badly. All the political prisoners got freedom for the first time from British at Cellular (Kalapani) jail and the British soldiers and officers were jailed in Burma. In 1943 Subhas Chandra Bose landed at Port Blair aerodrome and met the Japanese Military Commander of the island. Bose, on 30th December, hoisted the Indian tricolor flag in Andaman Island for the first time, thereby fulfilling his promise of hoisting the national flag on Indian soil by 1943. So, Andaman islands are not just India’s strategic outpost near Malacca Strait but its Cellular jail is symbol of India’s struggle against imperial power and government is trying to list it as a UNESCO heritage site. IAF need to protect it as Chinese Navy is aggressively entering Indian Ocean region (IOR) by building more ships and China’s PLA Air Force (PLAAF) can operate from Yunnan province bordering Myanmar to target Anadaman islands. IAF should be prepared for this.Medium lift military transport plane C-130J landing at Mumbai’s small Juhu airport. Pakyong airport in Sikkim inaugurated by Modi.NDRF team using C-17.Saras needs serial production like TejasSubhash Bose gave freedom to Indian freedom fighters from Cellular Jail and hoisted Indian flag. Modi honoured him on 30 December 2018 wearing INA cap and named two island as Swaraj and Shaheed.Narkondam island in Andamans was planned for building a radar base for IAF. But this was rejected by UPA government of Manmohan Singh considering the adverse impact it may have on unique and endangered Narkondam hornbill birds! One can also blame bunch of Indian environmentalists who get foreign funding for their NGO’s to scuttle India’s economic and strategic interests. This radar base project is revived by Modi government as it is better to loose Narkondam hornbills than loosing entire Andamans itself! China has its eye on Andamans and may declare it ‘not part of India’ under some flimsy reason. China’s next big plan after South China Sea (SCS) adventure could be Andaman Islands as it falls on major trade route and choke point.The ‘Defense of A&N Islands Exercise,’ jointly conducted by Army, Navy & IAF between November 20 and 24 2017, included fighters, heavy-lift transport aircraft, warships, infantry combat vehicles, special forces and regular troops. Since then two more joint operation conducted by Indian armed forces in Andaman. India should conduct these type of exercise regularly and scale of exercise should increase in future. ‘Defense of A&N Islands Exercise’ was harshly criticized by China as an attempt by India to block Chinese trade routes! (as if China owned all the international sea trade routes and India does not have rights to conduct military training in its own and undisputed territory. As per China, Chinese vessels including submarines entering the Indian Ocean are completely reasonable and lawful (China however threatens Indian Navy ships operating in international water of South China Sea).The IAF is down to just 33 fighter squadrons - including 11 obsolete MiG-21 and MiG-27 squadrons slated for retirement - when at least 42 are required to keep the ‘collusive China-Pakistan threat’ at bay. India currently has around 240+ Russian Su-30 MKI as front line jets which will go upto 272 numbers by 2021-22. There is few years production delay by HAL to reach 272 Su-32MKI figures. India also has around 60 Russian Mig-29 and 50 French Mirage 2000. If these are added up (272 + 36 + 60 + 50) we get a figure of 418. Assuming an IAF squadron consists of 18 jets, we get a figure of only 23 squadrons. Not just Mig-21 and Mig-27 are obsolete, even British origin Jaguar jet is also obsolete and withdrawn from services across the world. To reach 42 squadrons from current ‘productive’ 23 squadrons and ignoring Mig-21/Mig-27/Jaguar squadrons, we need another 20 squadrons or 360 jets. That’s a tall order for HAL & DRDO to meet from its embroyonic production center HAL producing 16 Tejas jets per annum after lot of push from current government. By the time HAL will complete entire 272 delivery of Su-30MKI by 2021-22, IAF will have 3 squadron of Tejas. HAL has firm order for 20 IOC Tejas, 20 FOC Tejas and 83 Tejas mark 1A, thus total 123 Tejas. There is no confirm timeline when Tejas 1A will enter production phase. So 123 Tejas will be available by 2025 with average 20 production per year.India has already invested $300 million for initial design of the fifth generation Russian Su-57 with the intention to make them in India in the future. But that project has hit a wall as IAF is not happy with is stealth characteristics and the engine. India plans its own 5th generation fighter the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) but it is a long way from its first flight. From 1995 to 2015, DRDO’s ADA could do only wind tunnel tests. Now under current government, there is urgency to develop AMCA but no decision on engine, radar etc. were taken. How can AMCA will make first flight along with Tejas MarkII by 2015?By 2022, IAF will also have 36 Rafale. MMRCA 2.0 initiated by Modi government for 114 jets which may take few years to firm order to vendor and few more years to start delivery of planes. This means delivery of 114 planes will start only from approximately 2027 onwards. This will not help IAF significantly to address squadron deficit. Government should give another 36 order immediately to Rafale and rest 78 can be negotiated with MMRCA 2.0 vendors like Lockheed Martin (F-16), Boeing (FA-18), Rafale, Gripen and Mig-35. Since the infrastructure being developed for 36 Rafale at Ambala and Hasimara can house additional 36 Rafale without additional infrastructure, additional 36 Rafale order should be given now.If rest of 78 jets is also given to Rafale, then it will be operational advantage for IAF to operate similar jets but government will look into other aspects like technology transfer and ‘make in India’ manufacturing. Lockheed Martin is claiming to have made few ‘India specific enhancement’ on F-16 (even before getting a firm order!) and renamed it F-21 to avoid comparison with Pakistan’s F-16, promising to shift its assembly plant from USA to India and giving India all the freedom to sell extra F-16 production globally anywhere. But it seems, Lockheed Martin is not transferring technology to Indian manufacturer and also F-16 is older technology. Boeing may use its existing private sector partners (Tata) to make FA-18 in India or its sub components under offset clause. India and USA may sign protocol to transfer sensitive technology transfer to India private firms before any order for FA-18 or F-16/F-21 is finalised. Retired IAF chief Subir Raha said IAF has shortage of 200-250 4th generation jets and no Indian government can ignore this. Whatever government does regarding 114 jets MMRCA 2.0 tender, complete delivery of these jets will not be complete by 2030. So, what are the options before IAF till 2030?1. All 272 Su-30MKI should be converted to ‘super Sukhoi’ to drop BrahMos and BrahMos-NG air-to-ground missiles. Considering maintenance issue with Mig fighters in the past, IAF should not go for any future Migs like Mig-29, Mig-35 or Mig-41, even if provided with fast delivery, transfer of technology (ToT), cheaper price or Russian threat that these planes can be sold to Pakistan. Pakistan cannot afford to buy them now. Considering former IAF chief Subir Raha’s sataement that IAF do not need heavy category fighters, IAF should not go for Su-57 even if Russians claim that it has stealth features. There are some news that India may ask Russian for 18 Su-30MKI and Mig-29 jets with quick delivery. There are news in media that Russia offered 21 Mig-29UPG standard jets which are 30 years old and built for Russian Air Force but due to economic conditions, never saw flying. Before buying these old cheaper Mig-29, India should consider the case of Aircraft Carrier (AC) Vikramaditya which was offered free initially but final price tag was hefty $ 2.2 billion.Japanese second hand F-15 jets can immediately fill IAF’s squadron shortage2. Japan offers immense opportunity to IAF. Japan is planning to buy 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jets. US President Trump recently announced Japan’s purchase of 100 F-35. Japan is keen to retire 100 F-15 planes to make room for F-35. Boeing makes both the F-15 Eagle and the F/A-18 Super Hornet and Mahindra Defence is their partner in India who made various parts and components for Boeing. India should buy these second hand Japanese F-15. If Pakistan can buy second hand F-16 from Jordan, why can’t IAF? F-15 is a proven fighter jets with many kills (third world country kills like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon consisting of old Mig’s) and can serve IAF till 2030 when large quantity of indigenous Tejas, Tejas MarkII and MMRCA 2.0 jets will be available. It is much better fighter than IAF’s Jaguar currently. These 100 F-15 from Japan can be as cheaper as second hand Mig-29 India seeking from Russia and can greatly reduce IAF depleted strength of 42 squadrons. India should start joint jet plane development with Japan. Japan has two successful product prototype which India needs, one is heavy lift military cargo plane Kawasaki C-2 and other is Mitsubishi X-2 stealth jet. India discussed joint production of US-2 plane for Navy which can land on high seas but nothing came out of those discussions. These type of amphibious planes can be used by IAF for landing in water bodies like Brahmapurea river near China border as water landing cannot be bombed unlike bridges and airfields.3. Transport fleet of Avro, Dornier and An-32 should be replaced with DRDO NAL’s Saras and Airbus C-295 which are advance and more reliable. IAF should consider buying second hand Lockheed Martin C-130J from other Air Force as its production has stopped but the plane is reliable and can be used for another two decades. IAF need to double the AWACS fleet as Pakistan and China are way ahead. Chinook and Apache helicopter fleet need to be progressively increased as areal transport which can carry troops and loads. Chinook can also be used in remote are road construction and emergency rescue.4. Heavy or strategic transport plane Boeing C-17 is reliable and can also operate from uneven short runway. C-17 is no longer being manufactured. So IAF should buy second hand C-17 from other air force, if available. IAF operates 17 Il-76 as transport (Gajaraj) and 6 IL-78 as refueling tankers. Although there is not major mishap with IL-76 and IL-78 planes, there are spare parts problem with this Russian origin plane. IAF should plan replacement of these planes as in future maintenance/spare parts will become more difficult.5. The need for attack helicopter was felt in 1999 Kargil war and HAL LCH (light combat helicopter) was developed. It is an excellent attack helicopter but the problem is HAL production. LCH is yet to get FOC (final operational clearance) and no clear production roadmap. IAF needs LCH in large numbers and Apache helicopter count should also be increased progressively. Weapons purchased with Apache should also be deployed on LCH.6. Airfields needed in Mayanmar border, Himachal border, Andaman islands and Lakshadweep islands. IAF need to activate old military defunct and small civil airports like Sholavaram near Chennai. During 2019 general elections, PM Modi raised the corruption issue of former PM Rajiv Gandhi used AC Vikrant to attend picnic with his friends, relatives in a Lakshadweep island in 1988. This created huge noise but everyone seems to have missed the real bigger picture – Lakshadweep do not have IAF airfields and expansion of a civil airport to land 737 type planes was scrapped by UPA government in 2013 due to environmental pressure. Maldives, which is immediate neighbor of Lakshadweep, had an airport to sustain its tourism industry and because of tourism, its per capita GDP is 10 times more than Lakshadweep. Now China has built a bigger airport for Maldives. Lakshadweep remained untouched from development for decades.China made airfields on uninhabitable atolls but IAF failed to built airfields in Lakshadweep

Q. Why is the Henan province in China underdeveloped?A. Reasons convergence has slowed, inland versus coastal economies (gap between rich coastal provinces and inland provinces not decreasing):Commodity boom is over.Policy mistakes (wasteful spending on physical assets as share of provincial GDP).Network effect (business stays in coastal cities because of better skills and education, more reliable legal institutions)Inland economic reliance on agriculture, natural resources/commodities, semi-industrialized, weak service sectorPopulation: 94 millions, 5th largest economy, 19th per capita GDP.Coastal provinces rely on export markets. Inland provinces rely on central government.Rich province, poor province (economist.com)Print edition | China Oct 1st 2016 BEIJINGEARLY in the summer Xi Jinping, China’s president, toured one of the country’s poorest provinces, Ningxia in the west. “No region or ethnic group can be left behind,” he insisted, echoing an egalitarian view to which the Communist Party claims to be wedded. In the 1990s, as China’s economy boomed, inland provinces such as Ningxia fell far behind the prosperous coast, but Mr Xi said there had since been a “gradual reversal” of this trend. He failed to mention that this is no longer happening. As China’s economy slows, convergence between rich and poor provinces is stalling. One of the party’s much-vaunted goals for the country’s development, “common prosperity”, is looking far harder to attain.This matters to Mr Xi (pictured, in Ningxia). In recent years the party’s leaders have placed considerable emphasis on the need to narrow regional income gaps. They say China will be a “moderately prosperous society” by the end of the decade. It will only be partly so if growth fails to pick up again inland. Debate has started to emerge in China about whether the party has been using the right methods to bring prosperity to backward provinces.China is very unequal. Shanghai, which is counted as a province, is five times wealthier than the poorest one, Gansu, which has a similar-sized population (see map). That is a wider spread than in notoriously unequal Brazil, where the richest state, São Paulo, is four times richer than the poorest, Piauí (these comparisons exclude the special cases of Hong Kong and Brasília).To iron out living standards, the government has used numerous strategies. They include a “Go West” plan involving the building of roads, railways, pipelines and other investment inland; Mr Xi’s signature “Belt and Road” policy aimed partly at boosting economic ties with Central Asia and South-East Asia and thereby stimulating the economies of provinces adjoining those areas; a twinning arrangement whereby provinces and cities in rich coastal areas dole out aid and advice to inland counterparts; and a project to beef up China’s rustbelt provinces in the north-east bordering Russia and North Korea. The central government also gives extra money to poorer provinces. Ten out of China’s 33 provinces get more than half their budgets from the centre’s coffers. Prosperous Guangdong on the coast gets only 10%.The number, range and cost of these policies suggest the party sees its legitimacy rooted not only in the creation of wealth but the ability to spread it around. Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms, launched in the late 1970s, helped seaboard provinces, which were then poorer than inland ones, to catch up by making things and shipping them abroad. (Mao had discouraged investment in coastal areas, fearing they were vulnerable to attack.) In the 1990s the coast pulled ahead. Then, after 2000, the gap began to narrow again as the worldwide commodity boom—a product of China’s rapid growth—increased demand for raw materials produced in the interior (see chart). That was a blessing for Mr Xi’s predecessor Hu Jintao, who made “rebalancing” a priority after he became party chief in 2002. It also boosted many economists’ optimism about China’s ability to sustain rapid growth. Even if richer provinces were to slow down, they reckoned, the high growth potential of inland regions would compensate for that.But convergence is ending. GDP growth slowed across the country last year, but especially in poorer regions. Seven inland provinces had nominal growth below 2%, a recession by Chinese standards (in 2014 only one province reported growth below that level). In contrast, the rich provincial-level municipalities of Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, plus a clutch of other coastal provinces including Guangdong, grew between 5% and 8%. Though there were exceptions, the rule of thumb in 2015 was that the poorer the region, the slower the growth. Most of the provinces with below-average growth were poor.Of course, 2015 was just one year. But a longer period confirms the pattern. Of 31 provinces, 21 had an income below 40,000 yuan ($6,200) per person in 2011. Andrew Batson of Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm, says that of these 21, 13 (almost two-thirds) saw their real GDP growth slow down by more than 4 points between 2011 and 2014. In contrast, only three of the ten richer provinces (those with income per person above the 40,000 yuan mark) slowed that much. In 2007 all of China’s provinces were narrowing their income gap with Shanghai. In 2015 barely a third of them were. In other words, China’s slowdown has been much sharper in poorer areas than richer ones.There are three reasons why convergence has stalled. The main one is that the commodity boom is over. Both coal and steel prices fell by two-thirds between 2011 and the end of 2015, before recovering somewhat this year. Commodity-producing provinces have been hammered. Gansu produces 90% of the country’s nickel. Inner Mongolia and Shanxi account for half of coal production. In all but four of the 21 inland provinces, mining and metals account for a higher share of GDP than the national average.Commodity-influenced slowdowns are often made worse by policy mistakes. This is the second reason for the halt in convergence. Inland provinces built a housing boom on the back of the commodity one, creating what seemed at the time like a perpetual-motion machine: high raw-material prices financed construction which increased demand for raw materials. When commodity prices fell, the boom began to look unsustainable.The pace of inland growth was evident in dizzying levels of investment in physical assets such as buildings and roads. Between 2008 and last year, as a share of provincial GDP, it rose from 48% to 73% in Shanxi, 64% to 78% in Inner Mongolia, and from 54% to an astonishing 104% in Xinjiang. In the country as a whole, investment as a share of GDP rose only slightly in that period, to 43%. In Shanghai it fell.This would be fine if the investments were productive, but provinces in the west are notorious for waste. In the coal-rich city of Ordos in Inner Mongolia, on the edge of the Gobi desert, a new district was built, designed for 1m people. It stood empty for years, a symbol of ill-planned extravagance (people are at last moving in).Investment by the government is keeping some places afloat. Tibet, for example, logged 10.6% growth in the first half of this year, thanks to net fiscal transfers from the central government amounting to a stunning 112% of GDP last year. Given the region’s political significance and strategic location, such handouts will continue—Tibet’s planners admit there is no chance of the region getting by without them for the foreseeable future.Tibet is an extreme example of the third reason why convergence is ending. Despite oodles of aid, both it and other poor provinces cannot compete with rich coastal ones. In theory, poorer places should eventually converge with rich areas because they will attract businesses with their cheaper labour and land. But it turns out that in China (as elsewhere) these advantages are outweighed by the assets of richer places: better skills and education, more reliable legal institutions, and so-called “network effects”—that is, the clustering of similar businesses in one place, which then benefit from the swapping of ideas and people. A recent study by Ryan Monarch, an economist at America’s Federal Reserve Board, showed that American importers of Chinese goods were very reluctant to change suppliers. When they do, they usually switch to another company in the same city. This makes it hard for inland competitors to break into export markets.There are exceptions. The south-western region of Chongqing has emerged as the world’s largest exporter of laptops. Chengdu, the capital of neighbouring Sichuan province, is becoming a financial hub. But by and large China’s export industry is not migrating inland. In 2002 six big coastal provinces accounted for 80% of manufactured exports. They still do.This contrast is worrying. Though income gaps did narrow after 2000 and only stopped doing so recently, provinces have not become alike in other respects. Rich ones continue to depend on world markets and foreign investment. Poor provinces increasingly depend on support from the central government.A divergence of viewsOfficials bicker about this. Mr Xi asserted the Robin-Hood view in Ningxia that regional gaps matter and that redistribution is needed. “The first to prosper,” he said, “should help the latecomers.” But three months earlier, an anonymous “authoritative person” (widely believed to be Mr Xi’s own adviser, Liu He) took a more relaxed view, telling the party’s mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, that “divergence is a necessity of economic development,” and “the faster divergence happens, the better.”It is unclear how this difference will be resolved, though the money must surely be on Mr Xi. Economically, though, Mr Liu is right. Regional-aid programmes have had little impact on the narrowing of income gaps. More of them will not stop those gaps widening. Socially, a slowdown in poorer provinces should not be a problem so long as jobs are still being created in richer ones, enabling migrants from inland to find work there and send money home. But politically the end of convergence is a challenge to Mr Xi, who has been trying to appeal to traditionalists in the party who extol Mao as a champion of equality. Wasteful and ineffective measures to achieve it will remain in place.Henan - WikipediaHenan (Chinese: 河南) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (中州) which literally means "central plain land" or "midland", although the name is also applied to the entirety of China proper. Henan is the birthplace of Chinese civilization with over 3,000 years of recorded history, and remained China's cultural, economical, and political center until approximately 1,000 years ago.Henan province is a home to a large number of heritage sites which have been left behind including the ruins of Shang dynasty capital city Yin and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng, and Zhengzhou are located in Henan.Although the name of the province (河南) means "south of the [Yellow] river", approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River, also known as the Huang He. With an area of 167,000 km (64,479 sq mi), Henan covers a large part of the fertile and densely populated North China Plain. Its neighbouring provinces are Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Hubei. Henan is China's third most populous province with a population of over 94 million. If it were a country by itself, Henan would be the 14th most populous country in the world, ahead of Egypt and Vietnam.Henan is the 5th largest provincial economy of China and the largest among inland provinces. However, per capita GDP is low compared to other eastern and central provinces.Henan is considered to be one of the less developed areas in China. The economy continues to grow based on aluminum and coal prices, as well as agriculture, heavy industry, tourism, and retail, and high tech industries and service sector is underdeveloped and is concentrated around Zhengzhou and Luoyang.EconomyHenan has seen rapid development in its economy over the past two decades, and its economy has expanded at an even faster rate than the national average of 10%. This rapid growth has transformed Henan from one of the poorest provinces to one that matches other central provinces, though still relatively impoverished on a national scale. In 2011, Henan's nominal GDP was 3.20 trillion RMB (US$427 billion), making it the fifth largest economy in China, although it ranks nineteenth in terms of GDP per capita.Henan is a semi-industrialized economy with an underdeveloped service sector. In 2009, Henan's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 277 billion RMB (US$40 billion), 1.097 trillion RMB (US$160 billion), and 563 billion RMB (US$82 billion), respectively. Agriculture has traditionally been a pillar of its economy, with the nation's highest wheat and sesame output and second highest rice output, earning its reputation as the breadbasket of China. Henan is also an important producer of beef, cotton, maize, pork, animal oil, and corn. Food production and processing makes up more than 14% of the output from the province's secondary industry, and it is said that 90% of Chinese McDonald's and KFC ingredients comes from Henan.Although Henan's industry has traditionally been based on light textiles and food processing, recent developments have diversified the industry sector to metallurgy, petrol, cement, chemical industry, machinery and electronics. Henan has the second largest molybdenum reserves in the world. Coal, aluminum, alkaline metals and tungsten are also present in large amounts in western Henan. Export and processing of these materials is one of the main sources of revenues.Henan is actively trying to build its economy around the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, and it is hoped that the province may become an important transportation and manufacturing hub in the years to come. In 2008, the total trade volume (import and export) was US$17.5 billion, including US$10.7 billion for exports. Since 2002, 7,111 foreign enterprises have been approved, and foreign funds (FDI) of US$10.64 billion have been used in contracts with a realized FDI of US$5.3 billion. Foreign exchanges are increasing continuously. Friendly provincial relationships have been established with 16 states (districts) in the United States, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, and others. Some cities of Henan have established friendly relationships (sister city) with thirty-two foreign cities.Henan's service sector is rather small and underdeveloped. Finance and commerce are largely concentrated in urban centers such as Zhengzhou and Luoyang, where the economy is fueled by a large and relatively affluent consumer base. In order to make the economy more knowledge- and technology-based, the government established a number of development zones in all of the major cities, promoting industries such as software, information technologies, new materials, bio-pharmaceutical and photo-machinery-electronics. Henan is a major destination for tourists, with places such as Shaolin Temple and Longmen Grottoes attracting millions of tourists each year.How China’s poorest regions are going to save its growth rateChina is undergoing a dramatic shift in its economic geography. In 2001, Chinese coastal residents on average had an income that was 2.4 times that of their inland brethren. By 2011 this ratio fell to only 1.9 times. Analyzing this collapsing income gap between the interior and the coast paints a much more optimistic picture of the sustainability of China’s investment and growth.From 2001 to 2011, the Chinese economy grew at an average annual rate of 11.6% percent, whereas the US economy grew at only 1.8%. Does this mean that the Chinese system is “better” at delivering growth? Not really. The primary reason for this difference is because China is still so poor. As former World Bank chief economist Justin Lin has noted, China’s relative backwardness in technology means it can grow through “imitation, import, and/or integration of existing technologies and industries.” At this stage, the Chinese economy does not need to invent—it needs only to build. As a result, China is enjoying a period of accelerated growth as it catches up with the West—a process that economists call convergence.But what is true for China relative to the world is also true for Chinese provinces relative to each other. As seen in the maps above, the highest provincial growth rates from 2001 to 2011 have occurred among the inland Chinese provinces, which were also the poorest. As an example of this phenomenon, consider the decision by many manufacturing companies to move production inland. “Henan and Sichuan have always been the largest sources of migrant workers. That was why we moved to both of these provinces to tap their labor pool,” says Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo. As a result of this inland growth, in the span of 10 years, inland Chinese residents have on average seen their incomes rise by a factor of 3.2, whereas coastal residents have had their incomes rise by only a factor of 2.6. Therefore income levels in inland provinces are catching up to those on the coast.Another way of visualizing this convergence is to consider the relationship between a province’s initial income level in 2001 and its growth rate over the subsequent decade. As seen in the plot below, there was a significant negative correlation between the two. In fact, it explains over 50% of the variation in growth rates in this sample. The negative relationship means that poorer provinces have tended to grow faster than rich ones. On average, a doubling of a province’s initial per capita income in 2001 lowered its average growth rate in the subsequent decade by about 2%. So even as the coast slows down, inland China picks up and incomes converge.This change in Chinese economic geography has a wide range of implications for both the short and long term.First, regional convergence makes a sudden stop in Chinese growth implausible. If growth were to fall to 4%, that would demand that growth in inland provinces be substantially worse than the growth rates of coastal China 10 years prior. But why should the Hubei of 2011 be unable to attain growth rates comparable to Guangdong when it was at the same income level 10 years ago? As discussed above, manufacturing, the previous engine of coastal growth, is moving inland. This suggests that the coastal model of growth may still be applicable for inland China.Others have raised the argument that inland China’s institutions are worse than those of coastal China (sign up required), and therefore inland China’s growth will fail to be as fast. But even if inland China suffers from more extractive institutions right now, there’s nothing intrinsic to those provinces that should keep them stay that way. In fact, strong growth can spark a virtuous cycle of institutional reform and help inland China follow the growth path previously blazed by the coast.Second, any worries about impending social unrest as the result of slowing growth are likely overblown. Because social unrest in China is typically local, focusing on national GDP growth is very misleading. Instead, it’s provincial level growth that matters. On this point, the data is quite optimistic. From 2011 to 2012, the average per capita income growth rate in inland provinces was around 11%, whereas the average for coastal provinces was only 7%. Although the coastal provinces may have suffered lower rates of growth, they already have relatively high incomes. Therefore no matter what, income levels and growth rates should be high enough to placate any mass scale social unrest.Third, regional convergence means that China’s long-run growth rates will still be quite high for the next decade. Because provinces such as Anhui, Hubei, and Sichuan are still very poor, there is room for them to catch up. So with the assumption that growth in the provinces for the next 10 years follows the same relationship between income and growth observed from 2001 to 2011, then China will still be able to maintain a growth rate of 7.7%. This makes the recent 7.5% target set by Lin (paywall) seem quite moderate and grounded on long term fundamentals.While this growth prediction may seem high in light of recent bearishness towards China, it is actually more likely to be an underestimate of China’s real growth potential. If the provinces were to follow the same convergence path as in 2001 to 2011, that would imply that the only remaining factor in Chinese economic growth is for provinces to accumulate capital, and that advances in technology will no longer play a role. But as discussed above, China is still very far from the frontier of technology development. This means that by adopting more western technology, the Chinese government still has the potential to further propel growth beyond 7.7%.Moreover, as China’s economic center of gravity moves inland, the inland provinces will be able to contribute more to GDP growth. Just as emerging markets are starting to make a larger contribution to global growth, inland provinces are starting to make a larger contribution to Chinese growth. From 2001 to 2011, inland China contributed to 46% of the growth in real GDP, compared to 40% over the previous 10 year period. If Chinese provinces converge as described above, this proportion will rise to 54% by 2021. Because inland provinces now make up a larger share of GDP, their relatively high growth rates will take up a larger proportion of total Chinese growth. Therefore so long as the inland provinces can maintain their current growth path, China’s national growth rate will not collapse.Fourth, convergence makes claims of excessive investment in inland provinces (pdf), much less credible. Recently, there has been concern that China’s real estate investment, particularly in the inland provinces, has created too much excess capacity. But since China’s inland population of over 700 million will roughly double its income over the next 10 years, growth will create the demand for much of the new housing being built in those areas. Therefore the much maligned ghost cities may soon be crowded by a rising Chinese middle class.Similarly, the increase in wealth will put transportation infrastructure under greater pressure and the “over invested” white elephants in the inland provinces may turn brown in the dust of growth. A recent video of a Beijing subway transfer line during rush hour serves as a reminder of just how much infrastructure will still be needed in the inland provinces as their incomes converge to those on the coast. The bottom line is that China, with its high growth rates, can “grow into” its capital stock. While this policy may have hurt Chinese households by denying them many years of more consumption, strong growth trends mean that the foundations for growth are still there and there is no reason for all of the accumulated investment and capacity to go to waste.So when Paul Krugman boldly declares that China will suffer from a sudden drop in growth, the first question that should be asked is “which China?” Because economic conditions differ so widely across provinces, to speak of a unified level of Chinese development obscures the underlying regional patterns of growth. These patterns lead to a different understanding of the economic data and a much brighter outlook for the Chinese economy. Even if growth in developing countries must eventually slow down, a look inland shows that the mini-countries we call Chinese provinces still have a long way to go.(Note: Nominal GDP numbers for each province are from the University of Michigan China Data Center. To get real GDP values, the nominal GDP levels were deflated by the China national level GDP deflator as provided by the World Bank World Development Indicators.)Follow Yichuan on Twitter at @yichuanw. His blog is Synthenomics. We welcome your comments at [email protected] | province, China (brittanica.com)Why are people from Dongbei and Henan despised in China (Quora)Blue is exporting, Red is importing