Sunday, April 9 2006 16:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: A Sino-India Software Research, Education and Training Base, the first of its kind, has been established in the southwestern city of Chengdu to replicate the success of Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, in the Communist nation which aspires to be a software giant.

The base was established on April 6 between Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province and Bangalore.

The event was held on the sidelines of the 'Chinasoft 2006' Conference, Xinhua news agency reported from Chengdu.

President of the India-China Software Association, Rex Trivad said he hopes the two countries can use the 2006 China-India Friendship Year as an opportunity to expand cooperation in the software industry.

With its world leading hardware industry and surging software development, China has strongly aroused Indian firms' interest in potential cooperation in recent years, he said.

The market capitalisation of Indian software industry has climbed steeply from USD four billion in 1999 to about USD 80 billion, with software exports in 2005 reaching USD 15 billion, Trivad said.

If countries like India and China were to concentrate on specific areas of their technological advantage, they could benefit far more than by competing across the spectrum. "I am confident that very soon Chengdu will be the Capital of IT in China," he said, adding that "we are committed to cooperating fully with Chengdu and supporting the city to follow the success of Bangalore."

China's software industry earned a record USD 48.75 billion last year while exports surged 28.2 per cent to USD 3.59 billion.