Company executives around the world believe the next big competitive threat will come from Chinese business – and, according to a new survey, Chinese business agrees.
In a McKinsey survey of more than 2500 executives from companies around the world, 41% rated China as the country from which they face the greatest competition, ahead of 22% for India, 11% for south-east Asia and 6% for eastern Europe.
China has rapidly transformed itself from a convenient source of low-cost labour to a source of global corporate power-houses, with low cost production, government support and a lack of strict IP controls cited by execs as key advantages for business in the country.
And if non-Chinese company executives see the economic powerhouse as a threat, Chinese business execs themselves are not about to disagree.
In another McKinsey survey of 63 executives of China-based companies, almost 60% said their long term goal is to grow beyond the local market to become a global player in their market sector.
Almost 80% said they expect their company’s foreign earnings to increase between now and 2010, up from the 74% who say they did just that over the previous three years.
But like entrepreneurs everywhere else around the world, the Chinese corporates have plenty of hurdles they will need to leap in their race for global dominance.
Finding managerial talent is the biggest problem for 44%, while 25% cited lack of sufficient capital, 24% insufficient of legal issues in other countries and 22% difficulties with cultural barriers – funnily enough, a list that wouldn’t sound out of place in Australia.
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