This paper compares the experience of poverty reduction in China and India. It finds that more than economic growth per se, what has mattered crucially is the nature of the growth: whether it is associated with growing inequalities that do not allow the benefits of growth to reach the poor; whether the structural change involved in the growth process generates sufficient opportunities for productive non-agricultural employment; whether basic needs and essential social services are provided. Government mediation of these and of global economic integration is important in determining different outcomes.