While China and the United States (US) have recognised the strategic significance of the re-emergence of Asia, India has yet to see itself as one of the two centres of gravity in Asia, as has been the case throughout civilisation, having close trade links with Africa.
India must now assert its own version of the way it will respond to global mega-trends, as it has the potential to overtake the US as the second-largest economy by 2050. With China emerging as a peer of the US in international affairs, India’s strategic vision must shift from being a ‘leading power’ to shaping the Asian–African Century with itself as one of the two nodes.