Already known as the world’s factory floor, China now wants to turn into an international outsourcing powerhouse, a report said Friday, a move which could challenge India’s prominence in the industry.
\nOutsourcing will become a new area of foreign investment for the country and China will encourage multinationals to outsource from here, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Vice Premier Wu Yi saying at a forum in the southeastern city of Xiamen. <\/p>\n
China, already a favorite with multinationals for manufacturing and research and development would make a snug fit for outsourcing services, Wu said. <\/p>\n
With four million graduates entering the workforce every year China offers a huge pool of talent for high-end industry outsourcing, she said.<\/p>\n
China wants to restructure its low-end manufacturing economy by investing in services, outsourcing, high-end manufacturing and Research and Development services, Wu said. <\/p>\n
India, the global leader in outsourcing services such as software and call centers, employs about 350,000 people in an industry that earned US$6.7 billion in the year ended March 2005. <\/p>\n
However, rising costs could threaten India’s headline position as major IT groups such as Apple Computer and software maker Pervasive, have joined Anglo-German Powergen in closing operations in technology hub Bangalore.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Indian science minister said in Beijing on Friday that India and China plan to set up a Cabinet level body to pursue joint technology development amid rapid growth in trade between the former Asian adversaries.<\/p>\n
New Delhi also is looking to China as a market for farm exports and a source of investment for infrastructure projects, said Indian Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal. <\/p>\n
“From the Indian standpoint, China will be our biggest partner in years to come,” said Sibal, who was on a five-day visit to the Chinese capital. <\/p>\n
Sibal said he signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Guanhua, to set up a committee to promote joint research. He said a formal agreement is expected to be signed when Chinese President Hu Jintao visits New Delhi in November. <\/p>\n
Under the agreement, the two sides will create a “road map” for joint research on high-tech projects and on solutions to common problems facing their vast, poor populations, Sibal said. <\/p>\n
“If you were to marry China’s hardware with Indian software, we could make goods for the international market that are high in quality and low in cost,” he said at a news conference. “This is an ideal relationship that we can nurture for the future.” <\/p>\n
Sibal’s visit coincided with a trade show in Beijing by 48 Indian companies, ranging from biotechnology and electronics firms to makers of textiles and machine parts. <\/p>\n
The minister said the two governments also hope to collaborate on solving environmental and other problems where he said India and China have unique experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Already known as the world’s factory floor, China now wants to turn into an international outsourcing powerhouse, a report said Friday, a move which could challenge India’s prominence in the industry. Outsourcing will become a new area of foreign investment for the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-investinginchina","tag-null"],"yoast_head":"\n