The Sichuan University Dikang Team became the national champions of the 19th Global Management Challenge (GMC) in Beijing on Tuesday.

Thanks to their business-management skills, the team outdid more than 250 Chinese teams in the fiercely contested competition, the first round of which started in September.

The winners will represent China in the international final to be held next April in Paris, France.

The contest, sponsored by the Dikang company, is based on a computerized business-management simulation system. Teams are regarded as separate companies with the same company background.

Each team acts as a standard manufacturing company. For four or five rounds, the teams are tested on their decision-making regarding production, financial control, human resources, quality control, marketing and transportation.

The team with the highest virtual share price at the end is the winner. Similar systems have been widely used in Master of Business Administration courses in Western universities.

Yang Jirui, vice-president of Sichuan University and head of the university delegation, said: "The GMC event helps the participants' teamwork and entrepreneurship. Also, the course helps to give them real practice in companies."

Luis Alves Costa, president of the International Global Management organizing committee, told China Daily: "It becomes more and more important for China to have more people with strong abilities and expertise on global management so as to compete with the influx of foreign companies after China's recent accession to the World Trade Organization."

"I am deeply impressed by the excellent performance of some Chinese teams and how strong they are in decision and strategy-making," he said,having overseen the past six national events in China.

The competition started in 1980 in Portugal and the system is considered one of the world's most sophisticated simulation systems for management training.

China started the contest in 1996 and won top honours in the international final this year and last year.

Beijing CDS Information Consulting Co Ltd - a business information consulting company under the China Daily Group - is the only agent for the promotion of and training for the challenge in China.

(China Daily December 19, 2001)