In the current global economic downturn, China has gained an important position on the global map. With a current growth rate of 8.9% and GDP of $4.32 trillion (according to The World Bank), it is projected to become the world’s third largest economy after the European Union and USA in the coming years. Its large and competent labour force, entrepreneurial culture and massive infrastructure investments are making this growth possible.
China is emerging as one of the leaders on the Asian side. Since its opening up in 1978, China has enjoyed a 30-year period of sustained economic growth and has grown by about 10% per year. The nature of Chinese economy is now changing, and domestic growth is a greater driver than exports. China has been a low-cost manufacturing sector but it needs to move up the value chain into the services sector that holds vast potential. Doing business with China has become imperative for any nation that wishes to keep pace with the fastest growing economies of the world. In this context, it is crucial for India to develop strong business relationships with China.
Historically, the Indian and Chinese civilisations have been at peace. However, after independence, India has not been able to create a win-win situation with China. The ongoing border dispute has restricted business activity between India and China from its full potential. Diplomatic relations with China will help us break off our hostilities and profit both the countries.
Indian b-schools focus on training students to go into high-profile managerial jobs. With a large number of global companies vying to recruit Indian b-school graduates, the focus is on teaching the students to work in sync with the western culture, which is the centre of corporate life. Chinese companies don’t form a major part of recruiters, and thus, b-schools completely miss out on the greater context of teaching students to keep abreast with the Chinese economy, history, context and culture, the knowledge of which is crucial for doing business with China.
Global business schools design their curriculum with an international perspective and do bring China into focus. They have courses, programmes and research centres that serve as an engine to drive field based cases and research. The best global b-schools ensure that their batch is diverse with different nationalities, including a significant number of Chinese students. Doing business with China requires the understanding of Chinese economy, the political scenario there, its policies and laws, as well as its language, work culture and corporate ethics. B-schools can play a very significant role in training students to do business with China and developing a strong relationship with our fast growing neighbour. Increasing economic interdependence between India and China will resolve the worst of historical animosities between the two nations. China has proved itself on the international stage and is now central to the world economy, and we have a lot to learn from it.
?The author is a 2009-11 MBA student, at IIFT Kolkata and can be reached mehakgandhi86@gmail.com