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China-India relations
This Week in AsiaGeopolitics

An India-China trade war? Modi fans the flames of boycott calls

  • The influential Confederation of All India Traders, which has 70 million members, is calling for a boycott of Chinese products
  • But most experts say any such action would hurt India far more than China

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Xinhua
Vasudevan Sridharan
Indian traders calling for a boycott of China-made products have been encouraged by an interview in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the matter is for the public to decide.
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“As far as public sentiment on Chinese goods is concerned, we should leave it to their sooj-bhooj [wisdom]. We, including the media, should guide the public,” Modi told Network18 last week, in comments that have played into the hands of the influential Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which has 70 million members and is encouraging traders, importers and consumers to shun Chinese products.

As its cause célèbre, the group is using Beijing’s decision to veto the UN Security Council from declaring Masood Azhar – chief of the extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed responsible for the Pulwama terror attack that killed 41 Indian security forces – as a global terrorist. However, its underlying complaint is that China-made products are hurting small-scale industries in India.

Despite most analysts cautioning that any boycott would be unlikely to work and would hurt India more than China, the CAIT has seized on Modi’s comments – made as India’s five-week election process begins – to galvanise support for its cause.

Masood Azhar, chief of the extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Photo: AFP
Masood Azhar, chief of the extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Photo: AFP
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Last month, to mark the Holi festival, domestic traders made tiny hills of Chinese-manufactured goods such as toys, clothes, and electronics in some 1,500 locations across the country and set them on fire. In the capital New Delhi, campaigners burnt items at Sadar Bazar, a popular hub for selling Chinese goods.

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