China's English proficiency to challenge India

By agencies   |   Friday, 09 December 2005, 20:30 IST
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BEIJING: China, which is aggressively working on improving the English language proficiency of its population, will challenge India's domination in the information technology sector by 2008, global research company Gartner said. The Chinese government is stressing English language learning as Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games that year. The government is supporting Chinese IT companies to learn from India's experience in the software sector and replicate it. Increasing language proficiency, and competence in developing software in English, will make the Chinese mainland a more competitive player in the global IT industry, Gartner said. "The Chinese mainland will have the largest English speaking capability by 2008, with a significant impact on business and IT globally," Dion Wiggins, vice-president and research director at Gartner, said. ‘China Daily’ quoted Wiggins “Removing the language barrier will enable mainland companies to work in a wider range of markets and segments,” as saying. "It will also result in more competition between China and India in the external service provider segment," Wiggins added.