Editorial: The futility of boycotting all things Chinese

Chennai

The ongoing tensions between India and neighbouring China over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) had further stoked this sentiment causing Sonam Wangchuk, a much-feted social reformist and innovator, to ask the countrymen to boycott Chinese products and apps. Following his clarion call, a handful of celebs got off TikTok, the popular Chinese video-sharing app, while another imaginatively titled app called Remove China Apps, was released. It was downloaded by over 1 million users over two weeks, turning it into the top free app available on the Google PlayStore (it has since been taken down).

Wangchuk’s suggestion might be regarded as a well-intentioned, but poorly thought-out retaliation. The irony of boycotting apps developed in China from mobile phones that are predominantly assembled using Chinese components is seemingly lost on an entire generation of cheerleaders of all things Indian. The knee-jerk reaction only went on re-emphasise the dependence on China’s manufacturing prowess for most modern-day creature comforts. But it doesn’t end there. Apps such as Swiggy, Zomato, and Paytm, which have turned out to be lifesavers in the true sense of the word, are significantly funded by Chinese investments, Zomato and Paytm by Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Jack Ma’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, and Swiggy by China-based Meituan-Dianping.

Even outside the digital space, how China has entrenched itself into global supply chains is nothing short of astonishing. If one had to pick apart his or her office space, or in today’s case, one’s home office, one would be hard-pressed to find a component that doesn’t have a Chinese contribution – from electronic goods such as computers and Bluetooth speakers to apparel (containing YKK zippers), fountain and ballpoint pens, automobile dashboard technologies, cooking appliances and more. And let’s not even get started on the B2B and manufacturing front – from newsprint to pharmaceutical compounds, hardware, construction prefabs among others.

The coronavirus crisis has increased our dependence on Indian and foreign e-commerce ecosystems and there’s no doubting the fact that we all need to be ‘vocal for local’ in the long run. But in the service of misplaced jingoism, it is highly impractical to consider abruptly hiving off trade relations with our nearest neighbour – whose goods and services are visibly and invisibly benefiting millions across the subcontinent.