‘Inspiration for me’: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu praises Chinese entrepreneurs’ survival tactic

Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho, praised the “survival tactic” of Chinese entrepreneurs, who have successfully overcome internal protectionist barriers within the Chinese economy. Zoho’s CEO said she is an “inspiration” to him when he “tends to complain.”

In a post for

Highlighting an article that pointed to protectionism and other trade barriers between China’s regions, he added: “Chinese entrepreneurs focus on exports a lot, perhaps because exporting is much easier than selling within China!” In other words, exports may be an alternative solution, a survival tactic. For Chinese entrepreneurs, it is not a sign of strength.

Vembu had earlier called for India to mirror China’s technological and industrial growth. In an earlier post, he stressed the importance of Indian companies focusing on creating sustainable $100 billion revenue businesses, rather than chasing inflated valuations, and highlighted China’s achievements in promoting big technology companies over the past two decades.

The Zoho CEO had urged Indians to embrace self-reliance and foster local innovation. He wants companies and entrepreneurs to focus on building technologies tailored to India’s unique needs, and reduce dependence on foreign products and services.

He stressed the importance of India’s talent pool in driving this transformation. “To earn real respect in the world, Indians must develop deep capabilities in India. Achievements abroad will not do that,” he wrote in a post on X.

Vembu’s perspective highlights the need for home-grown innovation to cement India’s position on the global stage, especially in critical sectors such as technology and manufacturing.

The Zoho CEO has consistently emphasized the importance of India learning from the Chinese development model, while also acknowledging the challenges involved. In June 2024, he highlighted China’s impressive achievements in research and industrial growth, noting that India should not wait for ideal conditions to pursue technological progress.