India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and China's Dalian city have signed an agreement to set up a platform for partnership between Indian and Chinese IT companies.
The move will help Indian IT software companies enter Dalian, a cyber city in China's northeast province Liaoning where over a dozen of Indian firms such as Infosys, TCS, HCL and others are already present.
Under the agreement signed on Tuesday evening, Indian companies will get "preferential" entry into the Chinese market.
"Today, the lines between hardware and software are merging very fast. Indians companies, who have an edge on the software side, and Chinese companies, who have an edge on the hardware side, can co-develop and co-create for the global market, " NASSCOM Senior Director Gagan Sabharwal said in Dalian.
"This partnership with the government of Dalian will help us create a platform where companies from India and China can co-develop for global markets leveraging their respective strengths in hardware and software," he added.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a NASSCOM corridor will be set up in Dalian's Best city -- a hub of IT companies -- exclusively for Indian firms for setting up operations and availing policy benefits by the local government.
"We strongly believe this is the innovative step in enhancing and mutually benefiting Chinese and Indian companies in software and services sector," Governor of Dalian's Best City Sun Long Ye said.
"The SIDCOP Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza platform developed by Zeta-V is an extremely innovative use of digital technologies and shall pave the way for greater and wider cooperation amongst our countries," Sun added.
Zeta-V Technology Solutions Ltd, an Indian start-up with a local presence in Dalian, will be deployed as the operator of the SIDCOP platform.
The firm will help Indian and Chinese companies communicate and understand each other's requirement by using artificial intelligence.
"We are delighted to play a key role in building this ecosystem of NASSCOM members and Chinese companies to help further the Sino-Indian collaboration in the new age technology space," said Sujit Chatterjee, Co-Founder and Director at Zeta-V Technology Solutions.