China, India should stick to business

Border clashes between China and India in the Galwan Valley on Monday cast a shadow of uncertainty over the two regional economic powers, with Chinese investors showing concerns about doing business in India.

However, experts said that both sides have displayed restraint in order not to escalate their tensions, as the two economies have the need for cooperation while averting conflict.

The Global Times learned that some Chinese firms operating in India worry that the clashes, together with other issues, might trigger some anti-China sentiment in the South Asian country, negatively impacting Chinese brands or products in the local market.

Scott Wang, head of a Chinainvested fintech provider based in Delhi, said Wednesday that Chinese companies probably will face heightened risks, amid rising nationalist fever there. “We also have concerns about capital safety ... we’re worried if overseas capital would be frozen,” Wang said.

There are also some Chinese investors who do not think the latest border clash will have much impact on their business.

Li, who has been engaged in the exhibition sector in India for four years, told the Global Times Wednesday that there isn’t much anti-China sentiment in India – at the moment.

“The impact on Chinese businesses from the border brawl could emerge in a week or two, and that depends how the two giant countries deal with it,” said Li, while believing both China and India would not let the situation fall into a tit-for-tat war.

As one of the largest trading partners of India, China plays an important role in the former’s economy. Bilateral trade reached $90 billion in 2019, of which nearly two-thirds represented Chinese exports to India.

Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said Wednesday that the Indian government should not move to disrupt bilateral cooperation on business and trade to display a tougher posturing with China, especially when India needs to recover from the pandemic’s impact on its economy.

There have been rising barriers against Chinese investment in India, which has sent contradictory messages toward China and Chinese investors, experts say.