Without Chinese parts, many Indian sectors will be crippled: insider

Some Indian nationalists are calling for a boycott of Chinese products and a decoupling from China following the border clash, but industry insiders say such calls are in vain as India relies heavily on China for key components of products like smart phones, solar power equipment and automobiles.

Indian media Economic

Times recently reported that Chinese smart phone brands have a market share of about 72 percent in India, dominating every price segment.

Shares of Chinese solar power products account for a sweeping 90 percent of the local market, auto components about 26 percent and telecoms equipment 25 percent, according to the report.

India’s auto industry relies heavily on China for electric parts, pressure sensors and fuel injectors, among other components, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), told the Global Times.

Data from the CPCA shows that China exported 2,957 cars to India in April. India came in seventh among China’s auto export destinations, despite the impact of the global pandemic and some calling for a boycott of Chinese products in India.

“If Indians are serious about boycotting Chinese cars and parts, their auto industry will be battered, especially as India is pushing for electric vehicles,” Cui said.

Rajan Wadhera, president of the Indian Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, said in March that supply chain disruptions in China caused by the coronavirus outbreak in part affected the clearance of BS-IV car stocks for transition to a new BS-VI emissions regime.

Industry data shows China exported $4.3 billion worth of parts to India’s $57 billion auto component industry in the 2018 financial year alone.

A Chinese smart phone sector worker in India surnamed Wu said that “Impacted by the global pandemic and an economic growth slowdown in India, Indians are tightening their belts to weather the impact.”

“If they don’t buy cheap Chinese products of good quality, they’re fighting against their own money,” he said.