Boycott Chinese goods and services, is it really possible?

Prime Minister Modi in his address to Nation on May 12, 2020, started 'vocal for local' campaign. He urged the citizens of India to buy and promote local goods and brands. Prime Minister further stated that the global brands were once local but when people started supporting them they became global. 

Prime Minister's vocal for local vision was to make India self-reliant. This has led the people of the country to boycott Chinese goods and services, but the question is is it really possible?
Info drive India presents a detailed analysis of India Imports from China's products and ports. These findings are based on India Export Import database of info drive India and is based on shipping bills and bills of entry filed at Indian customs. Info drives India’s Export-Import database is the most up-to-date and authentic information on India’s foreign trade.

Some of the Products Imported from China

A.     India imports many raw materials as well as finished products such as steel, minerals, plastics, toys, etc. from China. When it comes to boycotting imports from China, it can only be done in the case of finished goods but the imports of raw materials from China cannot be stopped. 

B.      India also imports consumer durables such as electrical devices, mobile phones, cars, parts, etc.

C.     Medicines drugs such as leprosy medications, antibiotics, etc. from China.

D.    Chinese smartphone market accounts for $8 to $9 billion of India's smartphones market which includes (Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo, Mi etc.)

E.     Just imagine at the beginning of the COVID-19 attack in our nation, India was suffering from lack of PPE Kits and COVID-19 Testing Kit later imported from China.   

Can India really boycott Chinese products?

 After the launch of 'Make in India' campaign by Prime Minister Modi, many Chinese companies have installed their units in India, which has employed thousands of workers in India. If India boycotts Chinese products then these companies may face pressure from Chinese parent companies to stop their production in India, which may losses jobs of thousands of workers in India, no doubt the unemployment

India imports nearly seven times more from China than it exports. If India plans to boycott Chinese products then finding a substitute that can match the cost and availability is nearly impossible. Thus, the GDP of India may reduce drastically.  

It is interesting to note that almost every item or product that we use has a bit of China in it. The smartphones, laptops, air conditioners, etc. that we use in our daily life has some parts manufactured in China. 

The manufacturing process is so complex and we must understand that the process of manufacturing and its interrelation.

For Example, a phone is manufactured with the help of Chinese labors and location, has investment from a different country say the USA or UK, has an innovative technology from Japan, the software have developed by Turkey and could sell and promotion conducted by India eCommerce apps like Flipkart. Thus, it can be concluded that each nation can't be segregated and neither its goods can be boycotted. 

If there is no such complex manufacturing process many countries in the world might start to boycott products from different countries but they know that they will fail due to the complex manufacturing process.