Boycott China : Is it really possible?

Calls to boycott China-made goods have erupted across India after 20 soldiers died for their country in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan valley late Monday night. The protesters have also demanded revenge and severing of trade ties. According to reports by news agencies people are burning the Chinese flag, China-made products, and effigies of President Xi Jinping. However, a question which unfurls itself in this backdrop is if India can even afford to boycott Chinese products at this stage, given the market share that China-made goods already hold.

 

Analyzing the data from key sectors and trying to determine if India can afford to substitute Chinese products with local alternatives and if so, here is how difficult will it prove to be in the long run. India's trade with China at a glance according to the Export Import Data Bank for year 2018-19 reads that India earned a total of Rs 1.17 lakh crores with export share of 5.08 per cent. Whereas, China earned Rs 4.92 lakh crore from India with import share of 13.69 per cent.

 

 

 

Certainly, this proves that India is one of the largest market to the Chinese industry and their products. The trade balance of India with that of China stands negative Rs 3.74 lakh crores that simply means India imports three times more that China does from India. In such scenario, how do we think of boycotting China and their products, also when India is facing depression on economic fronts?

 

Further, Boycotting China is not as easy as data from key sectors show: (Source: Department of Commerce; GOI (Dated: 17/06/2020)

 

 

Take apart any product today, whether it is a car, a phone or an aircraft, and you will find hundreds of components from several different countries, including China. Labeling a product clearly as “Chinese" would, therefore, be almost impossible. What’s more, given that country’s central role in global manufacturing, such labeling may render most critical products out-of-bounds for Indian consumers. Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corp., for instance, is a key supplier of components to Boeing, whose 737 Max and 747 aircraft are part of Indian airlines’ fleets. Xi’an is a Chinese company, so will India boycott Boeing for its choice of sourcing?

 

Meanwhile, in 2019, Chinese investment in the Indian Start-ups has risen 94 per cent. In 2018, China invested Rs 15,000 crores in India which rose to 29,000 crore in 2019. Out of the 30 big Start-ups in India, almost 18 Start-ups have got Chinese investment. These include brands like OLA, Hike, Big Basket, Byju, Delhivery, Dream 11, Hike, Oyo, Paytm, Snapdeal and Zomato, the report stated. Considering the ballooning of these Chinese products in India, it seems nearly impossible to suddenly boycott all, especially when the country is limping back to normalcy with an urgent need of business opportunities to revive the fallen economy.

 

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