The streets and roads of India are used by all that need them, creating the distinctive combination of oxcarts, tricycle rickshaws and modern automobiles.

“In my three decades in diplomatic work I’ve been to many places, many of them with material conditions far behind India’s. I didn’t have too much trouble adapting to India; in fact, in terms of work, trying to do our job right in India has been a much bigger challenge than adapting to the environment.” So says Tien Chung Kwang, Taiwan’s representative at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India.

When Tien Chung Kwang was dispatched to India in 2013, he found himself confronted by a country with an ancient civilization, a population of over 1.3 billion, 22 official languages, and a multitude of ethnic groups, which has been referred to as a “museum of religions.” Not long after taking up his position, Tien took an interview with Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), in which he described India as a future “land of opportunities” for Taiwan, promoting a two-pronged strategy around “creating a need for Taiwan” and “making India a base for sustainable operations.” Thanks to such efforts to promote Taiwan‡India relations, the relationship between the two countries has come on in leaps and bounds over the past four-plus years.

Bringing Taiwan and India closer

Physically, Taiwan and India are quite some distance apart—the time difference is two and a half hours, and flights between them take seven and a half hours. Despite this, says Tien, since Narendra Modi became prime minister of India, the relationship between the two countries has become noticeably closer.

Under Modi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came out victorious in the 2014 general election, defeating the long-incumbent Indian National Congress.

As prime minister, Modi has launched a number of policies to promote the growth of Indian industry, including the “Make in India,” “Smart Cities Mission,” “Startup India” and “Skill India” policies, as well as visiting a number of countries and raising India’s profile on the international stage.

Taiwan and India first set up representative offices in each other countries in 1995. Since then, the relationship has been firm and friendly, and has made particular progress since Modi became prime minister. In 2016‡2017, bilateral trade was valued at some US$5 billion, a more than five-fold increase on the 1995 figure of US$900 million. Tien remarks that what is responsible for this change is the timely coincidence of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy and India’s Act East Policy.

In fact, there is much that is complementary about trade between India and Taiwan—India is a powerhouse in software technology, while Taiwan boasts advanced hardware technology and high-tech production capabilities. Research indicates that both countries have tremendous potential for cooperative growth in the areas of human resource development, distribution and retail, food processing, telecommunications, auto­mobiles and automotive parts, and logistics. In May 2017, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India set up its “Taiwan Desk,” providing up-to-date business information as well as financial, tax and legal advice to Taiwanese firms looking to invest in India. The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Scientific and Technological Cooperation a decade ago, with regular bilateral technology meetings held each year that have resulted in over 70 joint projects. And as the global influence of the Sinosphere strengthens, Taiwan’s status as a Mandarin­-­speaking country has become an invaluable foot in the door. As the only country to continue officially using traditional Chinese characters, Taiwan has established “Taiwan Education Centers” at seven renowned Indian universities, dispatching teachers to offer outstanding Mandarin education.

Tien also makes particular mention of the participation in Indian NGOs of young Taiwanese, and the work they’ve put in. When the 2014 Nobel Peace laureates were announced, one was the Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. Tien learned from a CNA reporter that Satyarthi had said in an interview, “I love Taiwan.” At first Tien was confused—generally people would just say that they “know Taiwan.” He later found out that in recent years a number of young Taiwanese have volunteered with Satyarthi’s NGO, developing close relationships with Satyarthi and his wife. As a result, Tien invited Satyarthi to visit Taiwan, an invitation that was immediately accepted, and in the January after receiving his Nobel Prize, Satyarthi did just that. Such an event had likely never happened before, and it was all thanks to the efforts of young Taiwanese, Tien stresses.

Do your homework

Turning from international affairs to India itself, Tien describes the society’s attitude as one of “live and let live.” By way of example, he explains that Indians tend to consider the road to be there for those that need to use it, and so you’ll see everything from cars, bikes, trucks, and tricycle rickshaws to mules, horses, camels, and cows making their use of the roads. Indian people barely even care about people driving against traffic. This attitude of finding order in chaos and of living together harmoniously so that ultimately everyone can get where they’re going is well summed up in the catchphrase from the film 3 Idiots (2009), “All is well.”

With a population of 1.3 billion, intense competition has made the Indian people meticulous planners in many aspects of life. This, combined with the varying tax codes in each state and the piles of administrative red tape, can make adapting to living and doing business in India hard going for many foreigners. In response to this situation, Modi has declared that “red carpet will replace red tape” and that his administration will focus on “minimum government, maximum governance.”

This is why Tien recommends that those interested in making the move into India should remember that you have to “squat deep to jump higher.” First spend time embedded in the locale, observing and getting to understand local customs and culture. You’ll also need to bring your entire industry value chain with you as a “national team” to back you up. Setting up in India isn’t a 100-­meter dash, it’s a marathon, a test of tenacity and will. You need to do your homework and find the right partners in order to go the distance. Tien also recom­mends that industries in Taiwan make a full-scale examination to determine what lines of business are best suited for developing in India, and then “you need to have audacity, an eye for detail, and the courage to take the first step.”

Today, the World Bank ranks Taiwan 15th out of the 190 economies it tracks in terms of ease of doing business; India ranks 100th. However, Tien stresses, Taiwan needs to be able to see the potential in India, because India is a market well worth setting down strong roots in.

As Tien has said, the tolerance of all modes of transport on the roads of India is symbolic of how every country can find a place in the Indian market. It’s time for ambitious Taiwanese to get themselves ready and take their place on the starting grid, for while the road may be rough and the going difficult, if only we fire up our engines and steer a steady course, those who have their destination firmly in view will surely reach the land of their dreams.