Chapter-2
 

Think China and India, Not China or India

Surprising as it may seem, far too many companies still spend considerable time and energy debating whether to focus on China or India. The question is certainly important enough that, in their popular series in BusinessWeek, Jack and Suzy Welch devoted an entire column to “Choosing China or India.”

Our central thesis in this chapter is that, for most Fortune 1000 companies, the time for this debate is over and that the right question to ask is how best to pursue both China and India rather than which one. A company can derive several benefits from an integrated China+India strategy. It can capture the scale benefits from going after two (rather than just one) of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world. It can leverage the complementary strengths of both countries. It can transfer learnings from one market to the other thereby accelerating the pace of success in both. And, it can use presence in both countries to reduce the level of overall risk associated with operating in just one of them. In short, a smart company can use a China+India strategy to align itself with the rapidly growing economic integration between the two countries.