India relies on Chinese power devices it boycotts

India is making something out of nothing by checking power equipment imported from China for malware and Trojan horses, another aspect of its drive to boycott Chinese products driven by rising nationalism, Chinese analysts said.

Indian Power Minister R. K. Singh said that India will check all power equipment from China for malware and Trojan horses that can be potentially used to trigger electric grid failures to “cripple economic activity” in the country, PTI reported on Sunday.

Beijing Power Equipment Group told the Global Times on Monday that there are no risks of malware or Trojan horses on power devices. The company obtained the ISO9001 quality certification and other certifications from various countries.

Another power equipment maker, Nanjing Ruicheng Electric Power Technology Co, told the Global Times that the company guarantees that its products have no risks of malware or Trojan horses such as those reported by Indian media.

Dai Yonghong, director of the Institute of Bay of Bengal Studies at Shenzhen University, said that India is making something out of nothing and showing economic nationalism. India is copying the US moves to restrict Chinese products on made-up national security grounds.

“India has a huge demand for and reliance on Chinese power equipment. Imposing higher tariffs will not make it self-sufficient unless it improves its manufacturing ability. Chinese products are good and inexpensive. India's restrictions on Chinese products and investments are nothing more than an attempt to push China to give up its strong stance on the recent border issues,” Dai told the Global Times on Monday.

The confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased at tremendous speed, with nearly 100,000 cases detected in six days and total cases reaching 508,953, showed data from the federal health ministry on Saturday.