Tian Wei in Calcutta on Friday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, March 4: Create pockets of riches. Make a few people wealthier than the masses. Inculcate the spirit of consumerism and adventure in them so that they seek newer playthings. Develop an industry to satisfy their needs and let the economy thrive on that.

If you think these adages are coming from hardcore capitalists, think again.

This is the mantra China, once a champion of equitable distribution of wealth, has avowedly followed in the past two decades to build its robust economy that none in the world can dare to ignore today.

?You cannot be a developed country overnight. So we have allowed a section of people to become rich. This makes more economic sense than everyone having equal income,? Tian Wei, first secretary, economic and commercial counsellor?s office, Embassy of the People?s Republic of China, said at an interactive session of the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI) today.

He suggested that India could follow the same strategy to emulate the Chinese growth.

?If 20 per cent of the Indian population become rich, you have a big market. Investment will flow in to tap that potential,? he added.

Southeast China, home to the special economic zones, has made rapid strides, attracting multi-billion dollar foreign direct investment in recent years, while the larger part of China remained relatively underdeveloped.

Once a section of society gets rich, it would spend more and seek newer things. As a consequence, investment will flow to cater the market and economy will flourish.

This will trickle down to the whole economy. For instance, the remittance from southeast China to its heartland has gone up to a large extent.

?This means people living in areas where development is less has more money to spend. The government also has a larger kitty to spend on the developmental sector,? Wei added.

While the route to rapid growth seems easy, it is far too difficult to emulate in India. China, with a totalitarian political system, can think of pockets of riches. In India, no political party, irrespective of their ideologies, will be able to propagate such a principal of inequitable growth, an expert said.

However, there are few relatively less controversial policies that India as a country can follow.

For instance, infrastructure needs to be a key focus area to be competitive. Secondly, savings as a percentage of GDP also must go up, Wei said.

?China?s economic growth was fuelled by FDI. The same should happen here,? he added.

He also called for greater co-operation between the two countries instead of competition on the economic front. He also made a strong pitch for Chinese companies making greater inroads in India.