As US Becomes Increasingly Hostile To High Skilled Indians, China See An Opportunity For Itself

China is hoping to attract highly skilled Indian workers on the lines of the United States as it strives to turn the country from a manufacturing hub into a centre of technological innovation.

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The move, which comes at a time when bilateral ties have hit a low amid China's attempts to shield Pakistan-based internationally designated terrorists and block India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, could act as a confidence building measure, people familiar with the matter said.

In a recent article titled 'China should hire Indian science, high-tech talent to maintain innovation ability', state-run Global Times said that China has perhaps not been working hard enough to attract science and technology talent from India to work in the country.

This could open up a new destination for highly skilled Indian workers at a time when they are facing potentially tougher visa rules in the US.

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"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," Hu Weijia, a staffer with the Global Times wrote.

"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."

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, Chinese news portal caijing.com reported recently. India, with a sufficient young talent pool, is becoming increasingly attractive, the Global Times said.

While many Indians are based in the trading hubs of China the country has so far failed to attract Indian talent in high-tech sectors, its modernisation drive notwithstanding.

"There is a general impression in China that Indians are technically smart and have contributed to the US research and innovation driven industries. The Communist Party of China has set the objective of transforming China from a manufacturing hub to a place known for development of new-age technology," said an official, who did not wish to be identified.

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The Xi Jinping government, according to an expert on Chinese economy, intends to change the perception of China being a manufacturer of cheap goods.

"This trend has been observed in the health sector, with an exclusive institute on medical research that has been set up in Shanghai. This is attracting largely researchers from Scandinavia, Canada and the US," the expert told ET on condition of anonymity.

While the move can be seen as a confidence building measure, the Chinese will approach this as a pure business model, the expert said.

The Global Times article expressed similar sentiment. "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," the newspaper said. "China has made the mistake of ignoring Indian talent, and instead has attached a greater importance to talent coming from the US and Europe."

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It said 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... China has made the mistake of ignoring Indian talent, and instead has attached a greater importance to talent coming from the US and Europe," it said.

According to the article, certain enterprises in Southwest China's Guizhou province provide better lifestyle and salaries for Indian talent than in Bengaluru.

A total of 1,576 foreigners were granted permanent residence in China in 2016, an increase of 163 per cent over the previous year.