The Silk Road Rediscovered

A roadmap for understanding the business challenges andopportunities in ChinaBy 2025, China and India will be two of the world's four largesteconomies. By then, economic ties between them should also rankamong the ten most important bilateral ties worldwide. Theirleaders are well aware of these emerging realities. In May 2013,just two months after taking charge, Premier Li Keqiang left forIndia on his first official trip outside China, a clear signal ofChina's foreign policy priorities.The Silk Road Rediscovered is the first book ever toanalyze the growing corporate linkages between India and China. Didyou know that:* India's Mahindra is the fifth largest tractor manufacturer inChina?* Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover unit is the fastest growingluxury auto seller in China?* India's NIIT is the most influential IT training brand inChina?* China's Huawei has its second largest R&D center inBangalore and employs over 5000 people in India?* Shanghai Electric earns its largest revenues outside China fromIndia?As these developments illustrate, pioneering Indian and Chinesecompanies are rediscovering the fabled Silk Road which joined theirnations in ancient times. Winning in each other's markets is alsomaking them stronger and whetting their appetite for further globalexpansion.This book examines how Indian companies such as Tata ConsultancyServices, Mahindra Tractors, NIIT, Tata Motors/Jaguar Land Roverand Sundaram Fasteners have figured out how to win in China. Theirexperiences may inspire and offer lessons to other Indiancompanies. The book also examines how Chinese pioneers such asLenovo, Huawei, TBEA, Haier and Xinxing have made a strongcommitment to India and are beginning to realize the fruits of thiscommitment. The key lessons that emerge from these analyses are:the odds of success go up dramatically when executives adopt aglobal rather than local-for-local perspective and areskillful at learning on the ground.

Foreword - William Antholis, Managing Director, The Brookings Institution xiPreface xixAcknowledgments xxix1 Asia's Best-Kept Secret 1Growing Economic Ties Between India and China2 Succeeding in China 45Opportunities and Challenges3 Leveraging India's Home-Country Advantages 89Tata Consultancy Services in China4 Making China a Second Home 115Mahindra Tractors in China5 Partnering with Chinese Institutions 137NIIT in China6 Driving Indirectly into China 161Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover7 Committed Pioneers 179Chinese Companies in India8 A China Roadmap for Indian Companies 223Notes 249About the Authors 257Index 265