China's gaining ground in s/w and R&D
Found the following 2 articles:
- China to Boost Software Industry
- “Is China the next R&D superpower?”:http://www.reed-electronics.com/eb-mag/article/CA610433?pubdate=7%2F1%2F2005
It’s great to see China progressing so much. And so fast! 
There is a long way to go yet. When I see software in China, it’s like Ireland in the 80s. What I meant is, the labour is cheaper in China. China has been one of many places companies are outsourcing to. (Some very good people I use to work with who was based in US was recentyl laid off in my last company. That particular team was part based in China, so cost comparitively, it just made sense to transfer the work back to office in China… and other less expensive locations.)
Apart from that, many, many talented grads are coming out of Chinese universities, and even when they are in uni, most folks would notice them going on exchange programmes abroad. Alot of unis here in Ireland have many Chinese exchange programmes now.
In such a short period, so much was gained, it will be interesting to see what it will be like in 5 years time.