How Long does China Have to Go before It Catches up with India?
Source:  View: 3346 Date: 2011-07-01

India has been the outsourcing leader since the debut of this new industry. With the progress and maturity of outsourcing, countries see its prospect and the benefits it can bring to the enterprises involved, so many of them join this army. China is one country with fast development and more advantages in this particular area.

In last decade, the government gives strong support to the development of outsourcing and the entrepreneurs have confidence to make great contribution to the country by overtaking outsourcing. However, is China good enough to compete with India and how long does China have to go before it catches up with India in outsourcing?

1. Let’s first review the disadvantages of China compared with India in outsourcing.

1) English proficiency. The inherent language superiority is always the great advantage for India as an outsourcing destination over China. However, Education First’s 2011 English Proficiency Index showed that China ranked one place above India. It can be proved by the education organizations’ great attachment on English in recent years. The colleges not only teach students techniques and professional knowledge but also those in English. This endows them an edge competing with their counterparts in India while taking outsourcing jobs.

2) Reputation. It can be said that India is a pioneer in outsourcing with a lot of big companies like Tata Consultancy, Infosys, Wipro, etc. The direct thought of outsourcers in Europe or North America may turn to India. Now, many Chinese outsourcing companies came into being such as Neusoft, Apptec, Insigma and so on (For reference to Top 20 BPO Players in China published by China Outsourcing). They are capable for delivering satisfying outputs in low cost and high efficiency and are serving a large set of foreign clients.

2. China is superior in outsourcing compared with India in some aspects.
It is widely known that China is strong in infrastructure, economic environment, yearly college graduates number and quality, and government support in policy and capital. Without these factors being stable, the outsourcing industry can’t go as smoothly as expected. Customers need to be given the confidence that they can receive high-quality results timely.

In summary, China has so many excellent features while the shortcomings can be dealt with and overcome gradually. It is a challenge for China to pass India in outsourcing industry but foreseeable and worth trying by all the industry participants. China doesn’t have to go too long before it catches up with India!

Devott Publications
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