PM says China's growth superior but will stick to Indian path

With the world applauding Chinese economy, prime minister Manmohan Singh today contrasted it with India's growth which has been achieved in a democratic society and said he would stick to the Indian path.

"No doubt Chinese growth performance is superior to India's growth performance. But I always believe that there are other values which are important than the growth of GDP -- respect for fundamental human rights, respect for rule of law, respect for multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious rights," he said during an interaction at the elite US council for foreign relations here.

India's growth rate, which slowed down to 6.5% this fiscal due to global financial meltdown, is expected to get back to around 9% within two years.

The GDP of China, the world's third largest economy, witnessed a 9% growth in 2008. In the first nine months of the current fiscal, its GDP grew by 7.7%.

"There are several dimensions to human freedom which are not always caught by the numbers with regard to the GDP. So I do believe that even though Indian performance with regard to GDP might not be as good as the Chinese, certainly I would not like to choose the Chinese path. I would like to stick to Indian path," Singh, who is here on a four-day state visit, said explaining why Indian model of economic reform was preferable.