CHINA'S GIANT SHADOW

THE SEVERELY STRAINED TIES BETWEEN THE TWO GOVERNMENTS AND A MASSIVE BACKLASH AGAINST GOODS MADE IN CHINA NOTWITHSTANDING, THE DRAGON REMAINS INDIA’S BIGGEST TRADE PARTNER. THE ELEPHANT MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO DISENTANGLE ITSELF FROM THE DRAGON

- SUMANT BANERJI

Less than three days after a deadly clash between Indian and Chinese forces at Galwan Valley in the East Ladakh region led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers on June 15 last year, a video of a group of men in Coimbatore shouting anti-China slogans and smashing their smartphones went viral on social media. The same day, another group, this time in Surat, was seen doing the same to a TV set.

The Galwan clash was the deadliest between the two Asian giants in over 45 years and further strained the already fragile relations. Besides the military standoff, China’s role in the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic distress that it has brought with it globally resulted in a significant backlash among the business community and consumers across India. Calls for a boycott of Chinese products, not entirely new in India, became shriller.

“Our target is that by December 2021, we should reduce imports from China by up to ₹1,00,000 crore ($13.3 billion),” said Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), one of India’s largest trader bodies. “The Indian consumer does not want to buy Chinese goods anymore. He is concerned with the spread of the virus and its impact on the Indian economy and the transgressions by the Chinese army on our border. We support them in this cause and will encourage them to buy local products.”