Consumers and businesses around the world have become the target customers of Canadian firms. At the same time, our firms are exposed to new sources of competition and new pressures to innovate. Perhaps the most preoccupying element of this trend towards globalization is the emergence of China as an economic powerhouse. And India is not far behind.
When you consider that China and India account for 40 per cent of the world’s population - and that their economies are growing at annual rates of 9 and 7 per cent, respectively - it is not hard to see why they have such an impact on the global economy. China and India are now major global competitors in labour-intensive industries.