This week, Indians watched footage of gruesome hand-to-hand combat between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the inhospitable, high-altitude terrain in Galwan Valley, the "Chinese occupied" part of Laddakh. After watching video snippets of Indian soldiers brutally attacked with iron rods and clubs, passions in India are running high.
While most Indians await the government’s promised military retaliation for the killing of 20 of its soldiers in Laddakh, there has been a rush for a grassroots movement to boycott Chinese goods, services and investments.
The clamor to boycott Chinese goods began even before this week’s gruesome killing of Indian soldiers. Amul’s long running advertisement campaign, that is known for its timely reaction to current events had its Twitter account briefly blocked in early June after its anti-China message “exit the dragon?”
China has been fledgling its economic muscle around the globe and its economy is largely dependent on exports. With nearly 11% of its imports coming from China, India currently has a $59.3 Bn (£47.7 Bn) trade deficit with the Dragon. Therefore, there is an argument to be made for an economic retaliation.
Anti-China protests have broken out sporadically all over India, with effigies of the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, set on fire. The Indian news outlets have begun carrying footage of local political leaders and activists going from shop-to-shop handing out pamphlets about boycotting Chinese products.
The central government, sensing the mood of the public has jumped on the boycott Chinese bandwagon. After the attack on its soldiers this week, the central government ordered telecom providers (including BSNL) and other private companies to ban all future Chinese deals and equipment upgrades. Chinese companies will also be banned from participating in tenders for future projects, which is likely to include plans to upgrade 4G services in India. (NDTV Article)
The Chinese have a direct or indirect footprint on almost all the products, gadgets and service you touch. If you look around you, you can probably spot trinkets, household gadgets, smartphones and computing devices that are marked as “made in China,” which are easy to identify (and target for boycotting). However, identifying products and services from startups and Indian enterprises may not be as easy as it seems.
A recent report by foreign policy think tank ‘Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations,’ has estimated China linked investments in India’s tech start-up sector alone at $4 billion.
Many startups that Indians are familiar with have major Chinese investments, including Big Basket, Byju’s, Delhivery, Dream 11, Flipkart, Hike, MakeMyTrip, Ola, Oyo, Paytm, Paytm Mall, PolicyBazzar, Quikr, Rivigo, Snapdeal, Swiggy, Uddan, Zomato.
Does #BoycottChineseProducts include boycotting these startups that employ hundreds of thousands of Indians?
Most multinationals make and assemble products with complex supply chain that includes manufacturing of components in dozens of countries that include China. These components travel from one Distribution center to the next across geographic boundaries before being assembled in a specific country.
Products that we associate as American or European like Apple’s iPhones, iPads, Amazon’s Kindle or even Levi's, Nike and Adidas’s apparel are all either assembled in China or made with Chinese made components. Identifying the ‘country of origin’ of products or even components that go into assembly of such end products is not as easy as it sounds.
And then there is a matter of practical consumerism that is hard to wean away from. For example, OnePlus, a China-based smartphone maker, saw its latest model sold off within minutes in India this Thursday, despite growing calls for boycott of Chinese goods following a border conflict between the Asian neighbors.
Bottomline: While #BoycottChineseProducts makes for a nice sound-bite, and a few local politicians, activists and digirati will get a 15-minutes-of-fame ripping up a “Made in China” trinket, these actions may not have real economic consequences on Chinese exports or China’s trading surplus with most nations.
While most Indians await the government’s promised military retaliation for the killing of 20 of its soldiers in Laddakh, there has been a rush for a grassroots movement to boycott Chinese goods, services and investments.
Rush to boycott “Made in China”
The clamor to boycott Chinese goods began even before this week’s gruesome killing of Indian soldiers. Amul’s long running advertisement campaign, that is known for its timely reaction to current events had its Twitter account briefly blocked in early June after its anti-China message “exit the dragon?”
China has been fledgling its economic muscle around the globe and its economy is largely dependent on exports. With nearly 11% of its imports coming from China, India currently has a $59.3 Bn (£47.7 Bn) trade deficit with the Dragon. Therefore, there is an argument to be made for an economic retaliation.
Plan for an economic retaliation?
Anti-China protests have broken out sporadically all over India, with effigies of the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, set on fire. The Indian news outlets have begun carrying footage of local political leaders and activists going from shop-to-shop handing out pamphlets about boycotting Chinese products.
The central government, sensing the mood of the public has jumped on the boycott Chinese bandwagon. After the attack on its soldiers this week, the central government ordered telecom providers (including BSNL) and other private companies to ban all future Chinese deals and equipment upgrades. Chinese companies will also be banned from participating in tenders for future projects, which is likely to include plans to upgrade 4G services in India. (NDTV Article)
Can Indians really boycott Chinese products and services?
The Chinese have a direct or indirect footprint on almost all the products, gadgets and service you touch. If you look around you, you can probably spot trinkets, household gadgets, smartphones and computing devices that are marked as “made in China,” which are easy to identify (and target for boycotting). However, identifying products and services from startups and Indian enterprises may not be as easy as it seems.
A recent report by foreign policy think tank ‘Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations,’ has estimated China linked investments in India’s tech start-up sector alone at $4 billion.
Many startups that Indians are familiar with have major Chinese investments, including Big Basket, Byju’s, Delhivery, Dream 11, Flipkart, Hike, MakeMyTrip, Ola, Oyo, Paytm, Paytm Mall, PolicyBazzar, Quikr, Rivigo, Snapdeal, Swiggy, Uddan, Zomato.
Does #BoycottChineseProducts include boycotting these startups that employ hundreds of thousands of Indians?
Most multinationals make and assemble products with complex supply chain that includes manufacturing of components in dozens of countries that include China. These components travel from one Distribution center to the next across geographic boundaries before being assembled in a specific country.
Products that we associate as American or European like Apple’s iPhones, iPads, Amazon’s Kindle or even Levi's, Nike and Adidas’s apparel are all either assembled in China or made with Chinese made components. Identifying the ‘country of origin’ of products or even components that go into assembly of such end products is not as easy as it sounds.
And then there is a matter of practical consumerism that is hard to wean away from. For example, OnePlus, a China-based smartphone maker, saw its latest model sold off within minutes in India this Thursday, despite growing calls for boycott of Chinese goods following a border conflict between the Asian neighbors.
Bottomline: While #BoycottChineseProducts makes for a nice sound-bite, and a few local politicians, activists and digirati will get a 15-minutes-of-fame ripping up a “Made in China” trinket, these actions may not have real economic consequences on Chinese exports or China’s trading surplus with most nations.
- Bloomberg - Border Conflict Does Little to Damp Chinese Phone Sales in India
- Government Asks BSNL, MTNL Not To Use Chinese Equipment For Network Upgrade: Report
- Business Line - How China dominates tech investments in India
- Guardian - Indians call for boycott of Chinese goods after fatal border clashes
