EXECUTIVE WISDOM: Top corporate leaders from around the world gathered in Beijng on December 3-4 to discuss how enterprises can stay afloat during the global economic crisis (COURTESY OF BUSINESS WEEK)

The recent financial crisis and continuing turbulence have left companies and economies across the world reeling from the impact. Despite this, Asian countries have until now provided a counterbalance to the global slowdown by promoting domestic consumption and investment. Yet, can they-China and India in particular-continue along the path of economic growth? Corporate executives and entrepreneurs from China and around the world discussed how companies should build sustainable enterprises to stay afloat in tough economic times at the 12th annual CEO Forum hosted by BusinessWeek magazine on December 3-4 in Beijing.

Foresight for sustainability

Wim Elfrink (Chief Globalization Officer of Cisco Systems Inc.): An enterprise capable of sustainable growth must have the foresight to foresee when and where problems will occur and be able to recognize the momentum for economic growth in different markets. I think we should place stress on talent when we look into the future and seek new growth points. A sustainable human resource strategy is key to the sustainability of an enterprise. That's why Cisco decided to create a second global headquarters in Bangalore, India several years ago. We have discussed global population changes in the past years. As we all know, Asia will become a major contributor to global population growth, while population growth rates are negative in many European and North American countries. This will lead to changes in different regions' contributions to global GDP growth as well as a global wealth shift.

I believe the global financial crisis poses opportunities for China and India to become more competitive and stronger. I would advise the two countries with abundant foreign currency reserves or capital reserves to actively buy assets of foreign countries and integrate these assets in 10 or 15 years. For IT companies like Cisco, we need to cushion the impact by having a scheme of sustainable development and quickly respond to market changes accordingly.

Sino-Indian cooperation

Zhu Min (Group Executive Vice President of Bank of China Ltd.): India as a large outsourcing market and an exporter of agricultural products will definitely feel the impact when the United States, Europe and Japan fall into recession. Neither can China as a manufacturing-based, export-oriented economy survive the crisis untainted. The stimulus package may promote economic growth in China back to its normal speed, but cannot solve all the problems in China such as low corporate profits and high corporate taxes.

China and India are complementary in many aspects and should conduct more cooperation to ride out the crisis. While China has a strong manufacturing base, India delivers sophisticated distribution services. India is rich in raw materials. China has to import them from other countries. China needs to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit that India's private sector is proud of. At this turbulent time, the two countries should consider how to reshape the global financial system and focus on cooperation in the global economic arena.