“Boycott China”, this is something we all have been hearing frequently since the last few weeks. This started after the dispute between China and India regarding the Himalyan border region of Ladakh. Due to this lives were lost, both Indian and Chinese soldiers died. Many Indian groups who supported Swadeshi came forward and appealed the citizens to cease the purchase of Chinese products. The idea is to effect the Chinese economy, making them realize that they can not just keep harming us while earning from us through goods and products. On 29th June the Indian government took a strong step against China by banning it’s 59 application. Some of the biggest names among them are TikTok, Shareit, Shein, UC Browser, We Chat, UC Browser etc. This didn’t end here, Indian citizens started raising their voice on boycotting Chinese products. Now people are not buying Made in China Products, there have been videos where people are seen destroying Chinese smartphones and other electronic devices.
This has led to the beginning of a war, between India and China. Large number of people are supporting this but this will also have an impact on India. Boycotting China will have impact on various sectors, be it goods, raw materials, import and export. This has to be thought practically. Do we have enough resources? Do we have enough manpower? Do we have that high technology? India imports more from China as compared to what it exports. From a small machine to a big tv, from toys to automobiles, from needle to hot water bottles, China controls majority of market as it provides the products in cheaper rate as compared to the India producers. So, why would a consumer buy the expensive product? Because of this China has control over majority of the market.
Let’s have a look at one of the sectors. Consumer durable goods, these are the goods which have a longer time span mostly 3 years, such as, Home Appliances, Consumer electronics etc. When we talk about smartphone industry the top brands in the market are Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, realme, controlling 72% of the market. Also, if we talk about Home Appliances, the product is made locally but the dependency on China for essential components varies from 25-70%. This is just one example but there are many others sectors which in one way or another are dependent on China.
Unless and until we develop an ecosystem for components it is impossible to reduce dependency on China overnight. It will take time and we will have to find an alternative which is available globally.
Thus initiating a trade war when Indian manufacturing ability is limited won’t help.
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