Why Completely Boycotting Chinese Products Or Brands Is A Far-Fetched Dream

Coronavirus is directly linked to millions of job losses across the globe with a lot of people going to bed without their stomach full. Similarly, it has also created a communal hatred, where a lot of people are blaming China for not being cautious and inform the world about this dangerous virus well in advance.

This is not the first time where a group of people in India are planning to boycott Chinese products (products made in China or made by a Chinese company). This is not an easy task to do and it is not a practical solution until we achieve self-sustainability and here is why it would take years of hard work and efforts before we could actually think of banning Chinese products.

Tech Brands Are Taking The Heat

A lot of posts and comments on various social media sites are related to banning Chinese smartphone brands, Chinese apps, and Chinese electronics in India. Do note that, even if we ban a product that hails from a Chinese brand, we do not have a proper replacement for the same.

Brands like Vivo, Oppo, OnePlus, and Xiaomi are facing a lot of heat, and some people even recommending buying phones from non-Chinese brands such as Samsung, LG, Sony, and Apple.

Even though companies like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are from China, they are some of the great contributors to the Indian economy. Do note that, most of the phones/electronics that these brands sell in India are actually assembled in India if not made/manufactured in India creating a lot of job opportunities and boosting the Indian economy.

Now, coming to the non-Chinese smartphone brands such as Samsung, LG, Sony, and Apple, most of these brands still have their manufacturing plants in China. Not just that, when it comes to components like PCB, chipsets, capacitors, batteries and many more can only be produced in China. So, even a non-Chinese branded laptop or a smartphone will be based on certain Chinese products for sure.

Shifting the manufacturing of these hardware components from China is India isn't easy. A tiny capacitor manufacturing unit requires billions of dollars of investment and a workforce capable of handling those precise operations.

Indian smartphone brands Micromax never invested in R&D and continue to import phones from China, rebrand, and sell and we all know the condition of the brand today. And this is the story with most if not every tech brand from India.

An Interesting Tale Between Friends

Two of my friends were recently discussing why we should ban all Chinese brands from India and should only buy products that are made in India and made by India. One asked another if he can live without a Chinese product and the opposite party said yes and he would have to move to a village for that.

Then comes the interesting bit, a modern person can for sure live in a village without a smartphone, laptop, television or any other electronic product and all he requires is food and water. Food can be cooked using wood (to prevent using Chinese stoves) and what about water? Can we always get groundwater without needing any electronic equipment?

There is a high chance that a motor that is being deployed to get groundwater has at least a single capacitor or a component made by China and we are definitely far away from being independent. So, my friend, even if we go to a village, there are chances that he needs Chinese products to survive.

Difficult But Not Impossible

This article seems like a pro-China story but it is not. This is the reality and we have to learn to accept it. India as a huge workforce, maybe with the support from the Government and tech brands we might be able to achieve that 100 percent self-reliance in the next 10 to 15 years. Until then, don't blame or spread hatred towards a product just because it hails from China, rather criticize the actual product if it isn't up to the mark.