The Wuhan virus pandemic has brought the world together like never before to target the People Republic of China (PRC) and its vile leader Xi Jinping. However, the anti-China crusade which used to be led by American President Donald Trump has changed hands.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now spearheading the anti-China sentiment of the world and the past few weeks have given ample evidence that Modi is willing to escalate things to lead this endeavor to its fruition.
Breitbart, an American Media company has published an article titled, ‘India’s Modi Supplants Trump as China’s Toughest Global Adversary’ and no one is disputing this fact, even an iota.
Amid the military hostilities between Beijing and New Delhi, India has shown a new and resurgent face that is diametrically opposite from that of the 60-year-old raggedy policy of Congress and UPA to appease the Chinese by giving away the territorial lands and succumbing to its whimsies.
India is not worried about the History books and what it will remember it for. Modi Government wants the best for India and if the need arises, he is willing to be the aggressor.
The Galwan valley clash in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) shows that the new India is willing to tread in the uncharted territory.
The recent banning of 59 Chinese apps including Beijing espionage tool Tik Tok has sent another strong message to the world community.
The apex body of trader’s union, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) which has already decided to boycott Chinese goods worth more than 1 Lakh Crore rupees- 13 billion dollars approximately- by December 2021, had also appreciated the ban on Chinese apps saying it will provide a big impetus to the ‘Boycott Chinese Goods’ campaign.
In addition to its overambitious Belt and Roads Initiative, China for the major part of this millennium has been trying to construct a digital Silk route which has got a major jolt as India has pulled the plug from its biggest money-churning apps.
The effects were far-reaching as the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on June 30 formally designated Chinese telecom vendors Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation, all their parent and subsidiaries, as well as affiliate firms, as “national security threats”. All this happened when India decided to show some resolve.
Donald Trump rode to victory in 2016 by dissing the Chinese and their policy of monopolizing every aspect of foreign trade. Trump administration even went on a full-blown Trade war with China but off late, Trump has been blowing hot-blowing cold when it comes to China.
One day he calls Coronavirus as China virus bu the other day he gets back to the former after attending Jinping’s call. When asked why he didn’t put sanctions over China for its inhumane treatment of Uyghur minorities, Trump replied:
“Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal, and when you’re in the middle of a negotiation and then all of a sudden you start throwing additional sanctions on – we’ve done a lot. I put tariffs on China, which are far worse than any sanction you can think of.”
The aforementioned statement is one of the reasons why PM Modi has overtaken Trump in battling the Chinese hegemony.
The conscious de-coupling from the gargantuan Chinese economy that has leeched on to every major country including India has begun and New Delhi is leading the charge.
When China started the trade war with Australia by banning its barley imports, India opened its borders to the Kangaroos, as an act of goodwill.
India was one of the first countries to amend its FDI rules to keep the Chinese vultures at bay from prying on the business that might have suffered in the backdrop of a global pandemic.
India has already identified a land pool twice the size of the European nation of Luxembourg to welcome companies leaving China. The COVID-19 Pandemic has led to companies exiting the “world’s factory”, China in an unprecedented exodus. And the Modi government doesn’t want to let this opportunity go waste.
Foxconn is looking to set its camp in India as it called India a bright spot for development.
The state government of Maharashtra has put on hold three agreements totaling over Rs 5,000 crore signed with Chinese companies at the recently held Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 investor meet.
The Indian government itself is leading the push to boycott Chinese products, contrary to previous times when it used to be citizen-led calls. The first step by the government was to refuse market economy status to China, thus giving Indian authorities the power to impose anti-dumping duty on any Chinese product.
BSNL, the state-owned telecom company, has been told to not use Chinese-made equipment in its 4G up-gradation. “The entire tender will be reworked now,” said an official.
The Department of Telecom is also considering telling private companies like Airtel and Vodafone, which use equipment made by Chinese companies, to reduce their dependence on the dragon.
Another department that actively moved to throw Chinese companies out is Indian Railways. China Railway Signal and Communication (CRSC) Corp., which was awarded the contract to install signalling in the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in 2016 for 500 crore rupees, has been told to move out as its contract has been revoked.
Narendra Modi’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ is cleverly disguised as a ploy to push out the Chinese influence from the country. PM Modi’s and his quick-witted actions have put Trump’s anti-China crusade a country mile behind.