No impact from calls for boycott of China
Move would only hurt Indian economy: industry insiders
Despite reports of rising calls in India for boycotting Chinese goods in the wake of an ongoing military stand- off between China and India in a border area, Chinese traders’ exports of small commodities to the Indian market have remained unaffected so far, several domestic manufacturers said on Tuesday.
Industry insiders warned that since exports to India only represent a small portion of Chinese total trade volume, a boycott would only make India’s economy suffer.
“Our exports to India have grown steadily in the last two months and I have not felt any sentiment of hostility or a so- called boycott from Indian clients,” Ying Daijun, chairman of Shifeng Decorative Lighting Co in Yiwu, East China’s Zhejiang Province, told the Global Times Tuesday. The company’s exports to India account for 30 percent to 40 percent of its total revenue.
Also, the orders for lights used in one of India’s largest festivals, Diwali, which is at the end of October, are almost the same as the sales volume last year, Ying said, adding that the ordered items have already been packed and are on their way to India.
A sales representative of a decoration maker based in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, surnamed Pan, also said that the firm’s exports to In- dia, which generates about 30 percent of its annual income, have not posted major fluctuations.
“Actually, there might be some small gains in recent months as an array of Indian traditional festivals loom,” he told the Global Times on Tuesday.
In terms of the potential sales decline following a boycott, Pan said that he is not worried. “Of course we sincerely hope that things do not get worse, but on the other hand, we have been exploring newly rising markets and have gained footholds in some [ countries], which would dilute [ the negative influence] and make up for the Indian market,” he said.
Ying agreed. “Our clients are spread globally, and when one market shrinks, another one will rise,” he said.
As bilateral tension mounted after the ongoing military stand- off on the border area, Indian media reported that the country’s political parties, as well as organizations and individuals, have called for its citizens to stop purchasing Chinese products.
For example, the state executive committee of India’s ruling Bhartiya Janta Party ( BJP) on Monday called for a boycott of Chinese goods such as toys and consumer durables, the Times of India reported.
“The BJP state executive meeting felt that we should boycott their products to teach the neighboring country a lesson,” BJP state general secretary Shobha Karandlaje was quoted as saying in the report.
Limited impact
This is not the first time that India has called for boycotting Chinese consumer goods, said Wu Shunhuang, CEO of Hong Kong- based space- sharing firm Inworks, which has a subsidy in New Delhi, capital of India.
“In the past years, similar movements have also been launched several times, but none of them were able to hurt Chinese manufacturers. So [ the actual effect] this time would be more like ‘ much smoke and little fire’,” Wu told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Besides, compared with “made in India” products, Chinese merchandise is relatively cheap and of great variety and high quality, especially in terms of more complicated goods which India firms lack key techniques to produce, domestic vendors pointed out.
“Based on my experience, Indian clients are always looking for cheap commodities that their citizens can afford… so it’s hard for retailers to give up Chinese- produced goods that are price competitive,” Pan said.
While domestic firms remain largely unaffected, Indian’s economy might be the one that is actually being hurt, analysts pointed out.
In 2016, China’s exports to India totaled $ 58.32 billion, and imports from India stood at $ 11.76 billion. This led to a trade deficit of $ 46.56 billion.
Exports to India only represented about 2.7 percent of China’s total export volume last year, meaning that the export of small commodities is almost negligible, experts said.
“The economy of India is largely dependent on China,” Wu said. “Boycotting Chinese goods could take a toll on India because the country has to produce the commodities using more labor and materials due to its low level of industrialization.”
“Boycotting Chinese goods could take a toll on India because the country has to produce the commodities using more labor and materials due to its low level of industrialization.” Wu Shunhuang, CEO of Hong Kong- based space- sharing firm Inworks