Patna Express: Boycott Chinese Products momentum heats up in India

Sunday, 7 June 2020

Boycott Chinese Products momentum heats up in India

As the onslaught of coronavirus continues in different parts of the world, it seems anti-China sentiments are heating up in several countries. America, the biggest victim of coronavirus outbreak 2020, has now launched an aggressive campaign to decouple its economy from China. Japan has asked its companies to shift its units away from China. Even multinational companies are also mulling to say a final farewell to China & sift their factories elsewhere in the world.

China is the second-biggest economy after the USA. It trades heavily with different countries. But unfair trade practices adopted by the Chinese government to gain upper hand in international trade, the production of low-quality products, China's aggressive behaviour towards various countries owing to different issues, and its suspicious role in the coronavirus outbreak, different countries in the world have realized the true cost of "Chinese investment". One of them in India.

Under the leadership of Prime minister Narendra Modi, India has performed very well to stop the spread of coronavirus within its borders & minimize the casualties caused by this fatal disease. Now, the Indian government has launched an ambitious initiative to reduce its reliance on Made in China Products & take active steps to become self-reliant.

While addressing the nation, PM Modi urged Indians to abandon their affection for imported goods & services & opt for locally made products to give a great lift to the Indian economy which is in bad shape due to coronavirus outbreak & subsequent lockdowns. A large number of people are out of the job due to suspended industrial activities. International credit rating agencies have downgraded India's credit status. It is expected that the Indian economy will contract up to 10%. It will take several years to recover the loss damaged by the coronavirus outbreak & lockdowns.

First of all, the government of India made a substantial change in FDI rule to stop Chinese takeover of struggling Indian firms and companies. Moreover, army canteen has prepared a list of foreign products that it intends to stop its use, but the notification was cancelled later on. Many prominent Indians have uninstalled the controversial Chinese app TikTok.  The momentum to boycott Chinese products is getting momentum in India.  A prominent activist from Ladakh region also called for the boycott of Chinese products.

Despite calls from the different sections of society for the boycott of Chinese products,  is it really possible for us to completely disconnect ourselves from China? If you believe the news of an online portal, China has made massive investments in different Indian companies, allowing them to become a major player in India. 

India's aggressive approach to boycotting "Made in China" products can anger China & it is feared that investment from this country may dry up, thus creating problems for startup Indian companies that desperately seek investment for their survival in the highly competitive business market & make the desired development. 

Any movement to boycott Chinese products is doomed to fail if common Indian customers don't participate in it actively. We all know that Indian consumers are hypersensitive about the price factor while buying products & services. They rarely talk about the usability, durability and quality factors. India desperately needs to make structural changes in its manufacturing industry enabling it to create useful and low-priced items if it really intends to move Chinese products out of its market. Ordinary customers always look for viable alternatives to low-priced Chinese products before supporting such a movement. 

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