It was nearly forty years ago that China opened up their economy for foreign investors and traders, and for companies to make the country their home of manufacturing. Fueled by the cheap labor and natural resources available within china, it rose to become the largest manufacturer of goods in the world. But the recent tread of countries to make themselves independent from china has led to many companies pulling out of the country.
The recent border clashes and the banning of apps in India mean that India is progressing to a stage where we are less dependent on China and Chinese products. Even the public has become more conscious of where the products come from. Take the example of Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, who came under fire for attending an event organized by MG Motor. Although MG Motors is a UK based company, it was due to the funding it received from china that got Mr. Ratwat in the scopes of the public. Although these companies are doing their part to win consumer’s hearts, as is the case with the MG Motors event which was part of a central government program to promote electric cars, it can sometimes backfire.
Jagdeep Kapoor, Chairman, and Managing Director said that brands must take into consideration these newfound sentiments. As a way to cope up with the new sentiments brands is finding ways to be more appealing to the public. For example, Xiaomi now assembles 99% of its handsets in India with components imported from China. The biggest challenge in front of the Chinese brand is not profits, but being in business and keeping its global presence, says brand expert Gaurav Gulati, who feels that the brands in question should keep a low-key and not make a lot of noise about their product as it could backfire at any time. This is not the first time that Chinese products have come under fire. In 2014, all Xiaomi handsets were banned from the Indian air force after it was found that these phones were sending data to a private server in china.
With over 20 billion dollars’ worth of electronic products being imported from China and a massive 70% of mobile handsets being a part of it, companies in China have to be very careful while promoting their products in India as it could easily backfire.
