Since the Galwan Valley conflict, “anti-China” sentiment in India has increased, setting off a wave of public opinion boycotting products made in China. On the 24th, Reuters broke the news that the Indian government had engaged in “secret operations” and “seized” containers from China, resulting in a large amount of Chinese-made electronic components and other commodities being backlogged in Indian ports. Indian media also confirmed this news.
On Wednesday (24th), British Reuters learned from two sources that products from Apple, Cisco, Dell and Ford Motors were also among the affected products. Another source said that the electronic components of Taiwan’s Foxconn, Apple’s contract manufacturer in India, have also been “implicated.” Reuters said customs officials at major Indian ports requested additional clearance materials.
Screenshot of Reuters report One of India’s largest financial media, Business Today (hereinafter referred to as: BT) magazine, confirmed the news . BT also said that “the Indian government has not given a clear message”, but the message conveyed by Indian business people is very clear – do not accept any goods from China and wait for further notice. The reason BT got from them was simply “hidden” – it was not a border conflict, but the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in China. China is one of the first countries in the world to successfully control the epidemic. Xu Hejian, spokesperson of the Beijing Municipal People’s Government, said that although the prevention and control situation is still complicated and cannot be taken lightly, the epidemic directly linked to Beijing and the Xinfadi Agricultural Products Wholesale Market has basically been controlled. Moreover, Observer.com checked corporate information and learned that Apple’s production plants are located in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Taiyuan; Dell is in Xiamen; Ford is in Chongqing, Hangzhou and Harbin.
According to BT reports, this batch of products is currently awaiting “risk assessment” or the intervention of intelligence agencies. In addition, Customs is said to have issued internal notices to Indian port, airport and cargo officials to seize Chinese containers across the country.
Screenshot of BT report This wave of operations by the Indian government is “shooting itself in the foot.” BT said that “many businesses are troubled”, especially delays in many electronic components that will affect India’s exports of goods. Some stakeholders said that if officials continue to detain containers from China, it is likely to cause port congestion and large-scale freight delays. The U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), a lobby group representing U.S. companies, told Reuters, “(Indian) officials suddenly stopped clearing customs of containers from China (and perhaps other places), which will undermine the pursuit of stability and transparency. Foreign investors send a bad signal.” The group also wrote to the Indian Ministry of Commerce on the 23rd, saying that this move would cause market chaos and disrupt production plans. India, where national sentiment is running high, has frequently seen “stunning” “magical operations” in recent times. Before the Sino-Indian border conflict broke out, India launched an App on Google Play that could “delete” Chinese mobile applications (Apps) with one click, but it was later removed. After the Indian side “crossed the line” in a provocation and killed 20 officers and soldiers in the Sino-Indian border conflict, anti-China sentiment across the country became even higher. Some people smashed Chinese-made TV sets in the street.
Source: News18 India But Indians “vote with their wallets” but are very honest: According to Indian media reports on June 20, China’s mobile phones After going on sale on the Indian version of Amazon on the 18th, it was sold out within minutes. In this regard, the “Hindustan Times” website published on June 22 titled “Is the “Boycott China” Strategy Really Effective? “The article stated that some people in India have called for a boycott of Chinese goods, which is very premature. This requires India to find alternative sources of such imports domestically or internationally. Data shows that China is now India’s largest trading partner. In 2019, India’s imports from mainland China reached US$70 billion. India is highly dependent on China in fields such as mobile phones and other digital products, energy, and machinery and equipment. </p
