Catalyzing Excellence In Education

INDO -CHINA .......THE FUTURE

The juggernaut is all ready to roll. Indian economy is riding high, on the wave of healthy companies and low inflation. The foreign institutional investors' fund is only adding to the health of the already fattened calf. The lion's share of the credit goes unexpectedly to the good old manufacturing sector. And here comes the best part-the Wall Street equity firm Warburg Pincus seems to be keener to bet on India than on our toughest rival, CHINA.
Coming to Sino-Indian relations, the question that arises is 'whether we are natural adversaries'. Every evidence points to the contrary. Be it the common grounds of Buddhist faith, the huge number of entrepreneurs being churned out every year or the commonality of experiencing colonialism, India and China could very well be allies. Perhaps the slogan “Hindi Chini bhai bhai” was a bit premature. After all China is a very shrewd neighbour to have and many would say not at all trust worthy. But we must remember to keep our emotions aside and try to concentrate on what we can we do for each other on the business and trade frontiers. China is a challenge for the Indian market and we'd be much better off learning to pick up the gauntlet. We simply can't shut our eyes and ignore it's presence because its very much there, close to us, waiting to be partnered.
We can mutually benefit from each other provided; we break free of this bureaucratic cobweb and have a visionary political outline. What china offers is it's large market and cheap resources. If we can coordinate and organize our offerings to fit in with their instantaneous needs, that is, capitalizing on the opportunity by giving them what they require in the predefined timeframe, then our business is certain to get rolling in the coming years. What china needs, is India's skills, especially in the software sector where it clearly lags behind. China can also use our linguistic abilities as a platform to interact with the west. India can learn a lot in the areas of low cost and labour intensive manufacturing. China's superior skills in the fields of production, technological upgradation, labour deployment and international marketing can be effectively harnessed by establishing ourselves physically in it's special zones and IT parks.
However, a lucrative business partnership requires loads of local knowledge and cultural insight. Indian companies presently with their business interests in China can testify to the truth of this statement. This is another hurdle that must be crossed. That is why Prime Minister's visit to china early in the year could be called momentous in numerous ways. Setting up of joint study groups is also a step in the right direction. The five-year roadmap will boost bilateral trade. PM's interaction with Shanghai's powerful business community has opened new avenues. Multiple opportunities are being created in thrust areas like ICT, biotech, pharmaceuticals, tourism, steel auto components etc…Moreover Chinese entry into the WTO has paved a better way for Indian exports and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflows. Even the anti dumping issues could also be handled in a better fashion with this new development.
With its market consciousness, china must be well aware of its handicap, the one respect in which it is seriously losing out to India- English speaking entrepreneurs. Another fifteen to twenty years and they will have overcome this hurdle too. This could seriously undermine our interests. But china could never compete with India in terms of cheap labour. That is why; India will probably always be a better outsourcing hub.
To cut a long story short, we could either befriend china and try to partner this Asian superpower (which will not be easy, given its previous records) or we could have it as our closest rival (which will be a still more tedious choice) if we don't move in for the kill now, some of our hostile next door neighbours, who have previously enjoyed the patronage of the Asian tiger, may beat us to it, something which we simply can't afford. It's high time that we adopt a proactive approach to ride the Tiger than become it's feed.
No matter what Wall Street Giants say, the fact is, that competing with the dragon will not be a cakewalk. Keeping in mind the present Indian political and economic scenario that dictates us to work along the lines of “Hindi Chini saath saath”, it is imperative to chain the dragon, albeit slowly, stealthily and diplomatically.