Japan and Indian Partner Up Against China

Looks like Japan and India are stepping up to the plate to counter China's increasing economic and political influence in the region. Of course, it would be great it everyone was capitalist and just competed, but as long as China remains a command economy, there's probably some value to the US not having to be the only one shouldering the load.

A quote:

As Beijing’s influence in Asia and around the world has grown, their common interests have forced Tokyo and New Delhi to begin warming their historically chilly relationship and to start forging closer economic ties. “The key issue facing the whole region is how to accommodate the rise of China,” said Suman Bery, the director general of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, a New Delhi research group. Indian economists estimate that Japanese investment in India will reach $5.5 billion by 2011, compared with just $515 million in the 2006 fiscal year.

It won't necessarily be a rosy path, though:

Culturally and economically, Japan and India remain far apart, a fact that government officials and economists said could complicate building a stronger relationship. Speaking Monday during a meeting in a New Delhi hotel to discuss the Japanese prime minister’s visit, Mr. Bery, the director of the New Delhi research group, said Japan’s manufacturing is “state of the art,” which has “not been our strong suit.”

I wish them the best.