Amid US visa row, China wants more Indian innovators, admits to ignoring high-tech talent from here
An article in the state-run Global Times says country made a mistake by ignoring Indian talent. The article, interestingly, comes amid worries in India over whether the US could restrict H1B visas for Indian IT professionals.
China has made a "mistake of ignoring" India's science and technology talent, Chinese state media said in an article published today. The article noted that the Communist nation may be best served by attracting high-tech Indian experts in order to maintain its innovation ability.
The article appeared in the state-run Global Times, which noted that the country has ignored Indian talent while attaching a "greater importance to talent coming from the US and Europe."
It was a rare positive write-up about India from the tabloid daily that has been carrying articles critical of India almost on a daily basis in recent months. The timing of the article is also interesting as it comes during a period when there are worries within India that US President Donald Trump's 'America First' rhetoric might result in the United States restricting H-1B visas for Indians.
India relies on these visas to send its software experts to the US on project work. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in fact, has urged Washington to keep an open mind about admitting skilled Indian workers into the US.
- "China has perhaps not been working hard enough to attract science and technology talent from India to work in the country."
- "Over the past few years, China witnessed an unprecedented boom in tech jobs as the country became an attractive destination for foreign research and development centres."
- "However, now some high-tech firms are turning their attention from China to India due to the latter's relatively low labour costs. Attracting high-tech talent from India could be one of China's options for maintaining its innovation ability."
- The article went on to refer to reports that US-based software firm CA Technologies has disbanded its almost 300-person research and development team in China while setting up a team in India with some 2,000 scientific and technical professionals over the past few years. The article added, "With a sufficient young talent pool, India is becoming increasingly attractive."
- "China cannot afford to risk a decline in its attractiveness for high-tech investors. The nation is among the third echelon in cutting-edge technology fields and is working to catch up with the US and the result of its efforts will decide whether China will maintain its status as an emerging global economic power."
- "One issue has become increasingly prominent: The talent pool in China is not large and flexible enough to meet demand for the rapid expansion of innovation capability."
- "In Silicon Valley, a considerable number of software developers working there are born outside the US. China should also strive to attract more foreign talent into the country as it aims to build itself into a world-class research hub."
- "A total of 1,576 foreigners were granted Chinese permanent residence in 2016, registering an increase of 163 per cent from the previous year. It seems that China is aware of the importance of tapping into international talent."
- "Some reports claim that the cost of employing an Indian engineer is just half the cost of hiring a Chinese worker, which means Indians could see their revenue more than double if they came to work in China."
- "Some enterprises in Southwest China's Guizhou Province provide convenience for Indian talent in terms of housing, insurance and transportation and could enjoy a much better standard of living in Guizhou cities than in Bangalore."
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