While India reels under the burgeoning second wave of the China-made Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, Chinese companies continue to use the crisis as an opportunity to profit. According to an India Today report, it has been exposed that the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), also known as the USIN Foundation, has been procuring substandard oxygen concentrators from China and sending them to India as “help”.
Last month, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), which had pledged one lakh oxygen concentrators for India as a part of the Covid relief assistance. However, as it turns out, the majority of the equipment was being procured from China.
Speaking about how the quality has been severely compromised of the oxygen concentrators which are in huge demand lately, the publication quoted several Indian buyers as saying that the Chinese companies had inflated the cost and were using substandard materials in the manufacturing process.
One buyer said, “Some companies like Zhengzhou Olive, Shenzhen Hongxinyuan Electronics, Guangzhou Ogwel, Yobekan Shenzhen, LongfianScitech Co to name a few even doubled and tripled cost of the April orders or refused to give delivery and also delayed refunding the deposits.”
Different companies are quoting separate prices for the 5-litre and 10-litre concentrators. While the rates vary, most show an increase in the cost in the past weeks. Compressors that are being used in the latest orders are under capacity and not medical grade. The 10-litre pieces need 1bar pressure which only a 750 W or 550 W compressor can do. But, the new pieces have been installed with normal compressors.
Narrating the filthy business practices in China, another buyer said, “As the demand was not forecast, the main components like medical compressors, molecular sieve, PCBA, outer shell, compressor cooling coils, etc, went out of stock. The assembling factories then started using non-medical grade components in the oxygen generators (as explained in the chart).”
While Beijing continues to use the pandemic as an opportunity to indulge in blatant PR, as was evident from Chinese ambassador to India, Sun Weidong’s tweets, that the Chinese companies compromise with the product quality, knowing well and truly it could prove to be the difference between life and death for a patient battling the deadly virus.
Weidong tweeted, “Chinese companies carry forward the spirit of humanitarianism, focus on saving lives, respond to wants & needs of the Indian people. That reveals their social responsibilities as well as the goodwill in helping India fight #COVID19. Thumbs-up for what they have done.”
As far as it goes. #China provides most oxygen concentrators to #India, and keeps producing oxygen concentrators&other medical equipment for India.
— Embassy of The People's Republic of China in India (@China_Amb_India) May 4, 2021
If China did indeed care for the humanitarian spirit, it would have capped the ceiling cost of the concentrators and stopped companies from cutting corners by using cheap material. Moreover, the US forum which has been ordering the concentrators from China should have done its due diligence. In trying to help India, their noble yet ill-planned move could cost the lives of hundreds.
Priyanka Chauhan, India’s Consul General in Hong Kong has raised the issue of price gouging but no response has been received from the Politburo.
South China Morning Post quoted Chauhan as saying, “Our expectation at this point is that the supply chain should remain open and product prices should remain stable. Even if there is a little bit of supply demand pressure, there has to be some stability and predictability to product prices.”
As soon as the pandemic started having repercussions across other parts of the world, China started playing down its numbers and a massive cover-up operation was orchestrated. The diplomatic offensive charm included supplying billions of faulty PPEs, mask, ventilators and now vaccines to the countries desperate for the medical equipment.
With such a shoddy history of crisis profiteering, India should have learnt its lesson and outrightly stopped acquiring such faulty products. However, now that the report has come to light, the centre should jump into the thick of things and respond in a firm manner to both China and the USIN Forum for their negligence.