Indian traders have made up their mind to boycott Chinese goods following the Pulwama terror attack. It seems that the ordinary citizens of India have fully understood how China is supporting Pakistan in order to strengthen its own interests in the region.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) paid homage and tribute to those martyred in the Pulwama attack. It called for a Bharat Trade bandh on Monday and also called for boycotting Chinese goods. As a Trade bandh has been announced, commercial markets across the country including Delhi are going to remain closed and no business activity is going to take place on February 18. The Indian traders body issued a statement which read, “In the wake of China supporting Pakistan, the CAIT has decided to launch a national campaign to boycott Chinese goods.”
It must be noted that the Pulwama terror attack was carried out by Pakistan-based and controlled terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the outfit even claimed responsibility for the same. However, Beijing has been adamant on preventing action against the JeM founding head Masood Azhar. It is important to note here that JeM has been blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council of which China is a permanent member (one of the five members empowered to exercise veto any UN action).
The evidence of Pakistan’s terror involvement in repeated terror attacks in India has been accepted by all other permanent member countries of the United Nations Security Council except China. Beijing has continued to support the terrorist country, in order to strengthen its presence and interests in the region. Directly or indirectly, China is supporting Pakistan-based and backed terror organisations and factories. And this has for obvious reasons ignited anger towards the neighbouring country
The fact that China has repeatedly refused to join hands with India and other countries in compelling Pakistan to stop manufacturing terror, goes on to show that China cannot look above making political and economic gains. Following the dastardly terror attack in Pulwama, there is palpable anger within India and emotions are running high. The citizenry of India has realised that it is the second most populous country in the world and the market size of India is phenomenal. No country can afford to lose such a sizeable economy in today’s time and especially in the case of China, which happens to be an export-based economy.
China and India are major trading partners. And when it comes to Chinese imports into India, Beijing holds a major advantage. India faces a trade deficit of $63 billion with China. The trading relations between the two countries are clearly in favour of China and this also creates a wonderful opportunity for India. A major dip in Chinese imports to India will hurt the Chinese economy in a substantial manner. In the month of October 2016, there was a similar call for boycott and the Chinese goods sale had dipped by 40 percent. If this gets replicated over a long period of time, China will lose out to a great extent.
This move by the Indian traders has its heart in the right place. China must be made to understand that it cannot play around with India which happens to be an emerging power on the global horizon.