Leading Chinese companies which include Xiaomi and Baidu are reportedly bullish on India, thanks to healthy diplomatic relations between the two countries.
According to a report by ChinaDaily, top executives at Baidu and Xiaomi told the publication that they have a positive outlook given their experiences in India. Smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has been operating in India since 2014, while Baidu opened its office in the country last year.
In the past decade, both private and government Chinese companies have made investments in India across different sectors. Though in the last two years, cumulative Chinese foreign direct investment in the country has almost doubled to $2 billion, thanks to the BJP led government in New Delhi.
Xiaomi, valued at $45 billion, is already a well-known brand in India. The Chinese-startup has already launched 13 smartphones and tablets in the country primarily through the online sales channel.
According to Xiaomi’s India operation head, Manu Jain, the company’s budget Android phablet – the Redmi Note 3 is the company’s top-selling product in India.
He further added that Xiaomi sells more than 1 million units every quarter in India, which include smartphones and battery chargers. The company has joined hands with Taipei-based manufacturer Foxconn and has begun manufacturing at its facility in Andhra Pradesh in 2015. “Currently, more than 75 percent of our devices sold in India are made in India,” Jain added.
Xiaomi’s India headquarters are based in Bangalore, a cyber hub also known as the Silicon Valley of India. Since its foray in India in 2014, Xiaomi has undeniably achieved a lot of success in a relatively short span of time.
Meanwhile, Baidu’s primary focus in the country is to develop a digital infrastructure. The company has a market capitalization of $55 billion, with its office located on the outskirts of New Delhi. The company has big plans for the country and says its here to stay for long, with its main products being Android phone apps.
Besides, since the launch of the Make in India initiative started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in 2014, other Chinese manufacturers have also started investing in India. Back in February 2015, China’s Huawei made an investment worth $170 million to open a research and development center in the country as a part of ‘Make in India’ initiative. It is to be the company’s biggest R&D center outside of China, which the company will use to develop software components.
Though, several challenges still exist for Chinese tech companies making investments in India. As China has already set up a proper 3G and 4G infrastructure across a major portion of the country, India still lacks the infrastructure, and it is only now the country has started emphasizing the importance of a proper 3G and 4G network infrastructure.
