Beijing: Leading Indian CEOs have expressed confidence in competing with China in the manufacturing sector, but saluted the Communist giant for its world-class infrastructure, enterprising leadership and bureaucracy.

"This has been a learning visit for most of us," Naushad Forbes, Business Mission leader and chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Maharashtra State Council, said in Beijing.

Forbes, who is director of Forbes Marshall, said he as well as other CII delegation members were highly impressed by China's phenomenal economic strides and excellent infrastructure facilities like roads and airports.

At the same time, he said most of the members of the delegation, who are visiting China for the first time, have concluded that Indian industry can compete with Chinese manufacturers in most of the sectors.

"There was a time when there was a hue and cry in India about Chinese batteries and toys flooding the Indian market and the possibility of Indian industries crumbling in the face of the Chinese onslaught. However, nothing of that sort has happened," he told.

Forbes said the delegation also visited several Chinese and foreign joint venture manufacturing units but were not awed by their operations. "We haven't seen anything that scared us," Forbes said while being confident that the Indian businesses had the capacity to match the Chinese industries.

Concurring with his view, chairperson of Thermax Limited, Meher Pudumjee said she was struck by the scale of operations of her Chinese counterparts. The way China has built world-class infrastructure facilities would woo any businessman to invest in the country.