Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Li Peng acknowledges India's supremacy in IT world

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Tuesday turned out to be a day of reckoning for the Indian information technology industry when China's second most powerful leader and its People's Congress chairman Li Peng acknowledged India's supremacy in the IT world, vis-à-vis even his own country.

Making a short speech in the campus of India's most admired company, Infosys Technologies Ltd, Li said the global reputation of Infosys was a testimony to India's edge over China and other countries in the IT field, especially in the software sector.

"Today, it is a great pleasure for my wife, my colleagues, and me to come here and visit this most-advanced software company in India. I believe this company has already been very successful, and is set to make greater achievements in the near future," Li spoke in a spirited voice.

Speaking in chaste Chinese, Li said since IT and information revolution are going to be the main features of the 21st century, at least the software sectors of China and India should come closer to work with each other, and learn from each other. (His speech was translated into English simultaneously by a Chinese interpreter.)

"I have come to India as an envoy of the friendly Chinese people. This visit has been very successful, which lead to greater promotion of the bilateral co-operation between the two countries and closer friendship between the Chinese and Indian people," Li affirmed.

Cheering and waving back to the crowd, a smiling Li said: "I would like to take this opportunity to wish every Indian, including those present here, family happiness, good health, and a successful job."

Welcoming Li and his delegation to the campus, Infosys Chairman and CEO N R Narayana Murthy said as an inventor of the first computer Abacus as well as of the writing paper (centuries ago), the people's republic of China was a great country.

Later, Murthy presented mementoes to Li and his wife Zhu Lung. In turn, Li gifted a porcelain vase with the painting of a dragon dance to Murthy, and a lacquered plaque featuring the Great Wall of China to Infosys' managing director, president, and COO Nandan Nilekani.

In stark contrast to the tight security cover that prevailed over Li's visit to the International Technology Park earlier in the day, it was a relaxed atmosphere at the Infosys campus, where hundreds of people got to see Li moving around freely and planting a sapling in the hallowed precincts to mark his historic visit.

Earlier, Li was taken around the company's workplace and given a live demo on its objectives, achievements, and the goals set forth. He was also briefed by Nilekani on the technology areas in which the company had achieved expertise, and was executing turnkey projects the world over.

Commenting on the importance of Li's visit to Bangalore and Infosys, Murthy said such visits would not only go to strengthen the relations between the two countries, but also lead to collaborations between the IT companies of India and China.

"China is a very important country in the world, besides being our neighbour. Obviously, the visit of a dignitary like Li Peng will develop positive relations between the two countries. I think we should make trade as the primary instrument for furthering the ties between the two."

Asked whether China's emergence in the IT arena would pose a threat to the Indian IT industry, Murthy said there was enough market opportunity for all to succeed. "I think if Asia has to succeed on the global level, then both India and China too have to succeed in the emerging areas of IT."

Murthy favoured a healthy competition between the two neighbours. "Competition between India and China in the IT sector is important for mutual success in the global context. With an advantage of being the first mover in the technology drive, China offers tremendous opportunities for Indian IT companies to capitalise on their software skills," he asserted.

Murthy also expressed confidence that once India and China build bridges of co-operation and come closer, there would be enough scope for collaborations between the IT sectors of both the countries.

At the end of his three-day visit to Bangalore, Li leaves for Hyderabad on Wednesday morning on his way back to Beijing.

Money

Business News

Tell us what you think of this report