Hurt ties,
Says move will also dissuade Chinese firms from investing in India
NEW DELHI: China on Thursday warned India that boycott of Chinese goods would hit bilateral ties and investment flow between the two countries.
“China is more concerned that the boycott will negatively affect Chinese enterprises to invest in India and the bilateral cooperation, which both Chinese and Indian people are not willing to see,” Xie Liyan, spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, said.
This is the second such warning from the Chinese side in as many weeks. Earlier, Chinese state media had said protectionism on the pretext of political issues will not help bridge the yawning Sino-india trade deficit.
India is China’s largest trading partner in South Asia.
Several social and trade groups have called for a boycott of Chinese goods this season — fireworks made in China are a big draw—to protest the country’s close ties to Pakistan and stonewalling New Delhi’s efforts to nail Islamabad for supporting terror.
Though the call for boycott has no official sanction, the Chinese said such a move would hurt India more than China.
India is looking at Chinese investment to upgrade its poor infrastructure, which is seen as a big hindrance in way of the achieving its growth potential.
Such investments, it is said, will address, even if partially, the trade imbalance between the two sides. India and China trade volume in 2015 was $71.6 billion. India is worried over the trade deficit that touched $46 billion last year.
“The boycott effect will not be limited to Diwali related products but extended to other Chinese products…,” the spokesperson said.
In the long run, the boycott will not only hurt Chinese sales, but also hit Indian consumers, he said, adding exports to India accounted for only 2% of his country’s exports.
“Without proper substitutes, the biggest losers of the boycott of Chinese goods will be Indian traders and consumers,” he said.