Who are fanning ‘boycott China’ campaign in India?
Simmering nationalisml bl blows l localsl economically
A boycott campaign in India targeting Chinese products and technology in the wake of a border clash between the two Asian giants is an angry outburst that won’t do the coronavirus-hit Indian economy any favors, regional affairs watchers said on Friday.
Following the recent border clash – the most serious military confrontation between the two sides in 40 years – Indians launched a campaign to boycott Chinese products, with many breaking their made-in-China mobile phones and TV sets, and taking to social media platforms to call for a boycott of China.
The China-India partnership has brought many opportunities to the South Asian nation, with the availability of Chinese phones, among other tech products, substantially ramping up the local push for digitalization, said Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
The sheer irrationality of boycotting Made in China products, hardly a new thing, would only end up dealing a blow to the local people who have benefited from Chinese investment, Bai said.
Chinese firms have invested in green field investments and in acquiring or expanding existing facilities in India, according to a Brookings Institution report in March. This is in addition to their investments in Indian businesses, mostly in pharmaceuticals and technology, the report said. Chinese firms have also committed to plans or bids for major infrastructure projects that have yet to be approved in India.
The border tension-inflicted boycott, adding to the Indian government’s regulatory toughening on foreign investment, notably Chinese investment in the country, would dampen Chinese firms’ interests in investing in the local market, inevitably pulverizing India’s push for its manufacturing, said Liu Xiaodong, chief representative of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
Damping investment
Geopolitical tensions between China and India that have surfaced occasionally in recent years could put a damper on Chinese businesses considering investing in India, although the clashes may not have a long-lasting effect, according to Xie Chi, a senior sales manager of the Sub-Council of Chemical Industry under the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, who has close contacts with Chinese businesses planning to invest in India.
A Chinese telecoms industry insider said if India bans Chinese telecoms equipment makers from its market, it may lead to an increase of procurement costs by around 20 percent.
According to Liu, the manufacture of handsets in India relies on China for 30-40 percent of component imports, Liu revealed, noting that the absence of an integral supply chain subjects India to continued investment from China, rather than the other way around.
Behind social media hatred
China-related posts are trending on Indian social media, with numerous posts containing insults reflecting negatively on China.
“If I [had a] gun I [would] kill at least 100 Chinese soldiers before I die,” read one post on Twitter.
Lau, a Chinese communications equipment exporter, has almost half of his clients from India. Lau said that Indian netizens – especially younger ones – are easily inflamed by nationalism, which makes them extreme and irrational.
Long Xingchun, a senior research fellow at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance under the Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the strong anti-China sentiment among ordinary Indians is also due to the result of propaganda from local news outlets, aggressive nationalists, and even some scholars.
Some Indian policymakers and think tanks have also been working together to orchestrate a wave of anti-China sentiment, and they view China and Sino-Indian relations through a pro-US lens, Long said.
Amid the border clash between China and India, some Western media outlets brought up topics that the US and its allies want India’s help in confronting China.
Long noted that India should realize that the US can only provide limited help, and that this cannot change the balance of power between the two countries.