Boycotts of Chinese products
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Boycott Chinese products (Boycott Made in China, stop using Chinese products, stop buying Chinese goods or Boycott China) is a slogan used by Internet campaigns that advocate a boycott of Chinese-made products. Commonly cited reasons for the boycott include the alleged low quality of products, human rights issues, territorial conflicts involving China, support for separatist movements within China, and objection to more specific matters relating to China, such as the eating of dog meat and the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, and more recently, the government's alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Countries including India, Philippines, and Vietnam have called for a boycott of Chinese goods, as have separatist movements in China itself. A full boycott of Chinese products is considered to be difficult to achieve, as the country manufactures a large number of goods that are widely sold and used across the world, and also holds stakes in various non-Chinese companies.[1][2]
Causes
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China is the largest country in the world by population, and the third largest by territory, sharing long borders with several other nations.[3] Border conflicts have occurred many times between China and their neighbors during its history.[4] At the center of Asia, some Chinese emperors attempted to expand their empires through war. There is also a lot of conflicting national interests and policies between China and other nations, like the disputes between the other nations with China and its allies. As a result of these conflicts, there is dissent against China amongst its bordering nations, and calls for the boycotting of Chinese products originate from residual resentment due to border conflicts.
In 1949, the Communist Party of China won the Chinese Civil War, gaining control of China.[5] Since the 1980s, with the "reform and opening up", Chinese leaders have made economic development one of their first priorities.[6] Chinese businesses often produce goods tailored to market expectations; therefore, Chinese products generally may lack quality[7] when consumers prefer to pay a low price.
Overpopulation is also considered a possible reason for manufacturing low-quality products; some firms cannot find enough of the needed raw materials to produce goods that serve customer requirements and follow safety standards, instead producing products made with cheaper or low-quality material. Many companies and businesses also lack capital, industry expertise, and marketing power, leading to their manufacturing of counterfeit products. Many companies produce such goods to piggyback on the popularity of legitimate companies such as Apple, Hyatt and Starbucks[8][9] are copied. However, by looking at the situation in the context of history, it is often argued that this is simply a normal transition in manufacturing, and that a phase of low quality and counterfeit manufacturing is not unique to China alone, as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have undergone very similar economic phases.[10][11] Keeping the aforementioned information in mind, with high quality goods being delivered from Chinese firms such as Huawei and Lenovo in recent years, it can be observed that the state of Chinese manufacturing quality is ostensibly trending upward.[12]
The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was considered a signal of poor food safety, affecting thousands of people, and as a result, many Chinese parents do not trust Chinese milk products.[13] In recent years, however, the Chinese government has taken many actions in order to prevent sales of substandard food.[14]
Technology produced by Chinese companies has also been a subject of scrutiny, especially by the United States; for example, in 2018, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 into law, containing a provision that banned Huawei and ZTE equipment from being used by the U.S. federal government, citing security concerns.[15][16][17]
Some organisations have used the COVID-19 pandemic as part of campaigns against China; for example, the Vishva Hindu Parishad in India has called for a boycott of China in retaliation for China’s allegedly being directly responsible for the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus strain and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic.[18]
Boycott by country
Australia
Amid escalating trade tensions between Australia and China during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey conducted by YouGov reported that 88% of Australians want to boycott Chinese products and support local businesses.[19]
In 2019, Australian companies stopped importing cotton sourced from the Chinese province of Xinjiang after reports of human rights abuse in forced labor camps came to light.[20]
India
India and Tibet have called for a joint campaign to boycott Chinese goods in response to border intrusion incidents allegedly perpetrated by China.[21][22] Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat stated "We speak about self-dependence and standing up to China. The new government seems to be standing up to it. But where will the government draw strength from if we don't stop buying things from China?"[23]
In 2016, China denied the entry of India to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Along with this, China is viewed as a major roadblock by Indians towards its permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, with China having used its veto power repeatedly to keep India out of the UNSC while the USA, UK, France and Russia support India.[24] Meanwhile, China provides Pakistan unconditional support in many international stages, despite the fact that many countries including India and the USA claim that Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism. Also, China makes a large amount of investments in Pakistan. During the conflict between the India and Pakistan in August–September 2016 after the Uri attack, the supporting stand of China towards Pakistan led to a campaign to boycott Chinese products in India.[25] As a consequence, sales of Chinese products dipped by about 40 percent in the period immediately after the boycott call.[26] Patanjali Ayurved founder Ramdev Baba was among the many people to have spoken of boycotting Chinese goods amid the 2017 Doklam standoff when nationalist sentiments had risen.[27]
In May 2020, in response to the 2020 China–India skirmishes which were allegedly perpetrated by China’s People's Liberation Army, Indian engineer, educator and innovator Sonam Wangchuk appealed to Indians to "use your wallet power" and boycott Chinese products. He called for India to "stop using Chinese software in a week and hardware in a year".[28] This appeal was covered by major media houses and supported by various celebrities.[29][30]
In spite of various campaigns by notable individuals and organisations, Chinese companies still have influence over various markets, especially relating to consumer technology and software. For example, as on March 2020, Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme and Vivo accounted for approximately 73% of smartphone sales in India.[31] On the other hand, Samsung Electronics and Nokia, both companies that once led the market, together accounted for less than 22% of smartphone sales.[32] In spite of the campaigns, retailers have stated that the growing rhetoric is unlikely to sway consumer behaviour, especially due to alleged "value for money" in Chinese products, especially smartphones.[33]
Chinese companies also invest heavily in Indian companies; 18 out of 30 of India’s billion-dollar startups are funded by China. Major Chinese investment firms like Alibaba Group and Tencent hold investments in major companies that are considered to be Indian, like BYJU'S, Zomato, Ola Cabs and Flipkart. In spite of the Indian government recording the origin of Foreign direct investment, many Chinese companies exploit loopholes by investing in Indian companies through their non-Chinese subsidiaries; for example, Alibaba’s investment in Paytm was by Alibaba Singapore Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Hence, these investments don’t get recorded in India’s government data as Chinese investments.[2]
In view of these circumstances, various other issues have been pointed out. For example, B Thiagrajan, managing director of Blue Star Limited, an Indian manufacturer of air conditioners, air purifiers and water coolers said "We are not worried about finished goods. But most players across the globe import key components such as compressors from China," and added that it would take a long time to set up local supply chains, and that there were few alternatives for certain kinds of imports. Besides, boycotting popular Chinese apps such as TikTok has been suggested as a more effective alternative to boycotting physical goods in terms of value added because there are multiple alternatives. [34]
Philippines
Many nationwide campaigns were held by different groups to boycott Chinese products.[35] Albay Gov. Joey Salceda supported Filipinos to boycott Chinese products over the Spratly Islands dispute which was the Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012.[36][37]
United Kingdom
In May 2020, leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage declared that it was "Time to stop buying all Chinese goods" and claimed that the Chinese "intend to be a bullying master of countries that have become too dependent on them."[38] A group of lawyers and activists submitted a 60-page document urging the UK government to ban the import of all cotton from Xinjiang over concerns of "forced labour regime" in the province.[39] A survey conducted in June 2020 revealed that 49% of British citizens would boycott "at least some Chinese products", while two-thirds voted in favour of increasing tariffs on Chinese imports.[40]
United States
United States has called for an economic boycott of China over the years due to various issues such as human rights violations (including forced labor camps), crimes against women, animal cruelty, conflicts with Hong Kong and Taiwan, and persecution of the religious in China.[41][42]
In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission placed China-based telecommunication equipment companies Huawei and ZTE on blacklist citing national security risks.[43] Chinese state-owned network provider China Mobile was banned from operating in the US in 2019 while a license removal was proposed for China Telecom in 2020 due to similar concerns.[44]
According to a survey conducted in Washington in May 2020, 40% of American citizens stated that they will not buy Chinese products.[45] On an interview during the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida senator Rick Scott claimed that "the American public is going to stop doing business with China" and that they "are now fed up with China" as the Chinese "clearly killed Americans with their actions", referring to China's handling of the pandemic. He also said, "No one should buy anything from communist China. We should never forget it is communist China, run by the General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi."[46]
Vietnam
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The tensions about the disputed areas in the South China Sea with China, especially the case of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 standoff, have triggered some boycott movements in this country.[47] The usage of Made-in-Vietnam goods is an incentive method to show the patriotism over South China Sea conflicts. Vietnamese people have called for a boycott alleging low quality and lack of safety in Chinese products.[48][49]
Tibetan Government-in-exile
In 2014, Professor Thupten Norbu, brother of Dalai Lama, had called for a campaign to boycott Chinese products for seeking Tibet independence.[50][51][52] He said: "I am confident that the campaign to boycott Made-in-China products will gain the support of freedom loving people around the world, and will eventually succeed in forcing China to respect the rights of its own people and acknowledge Tibetan independence. […] I call on all Tibetans and friends to join with us in the pure and sacred struggle to free our country."[53]
See also
- Environmental tariff
- Industrial pollution in China
- Do not buy Russian goods!
- Chinese boycotts of Japanese products
- Great American Boycott
- Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
References
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- ^ a b DelhiJune 1, India Today Bureau New; June 1, 2020UPDATED:; Ist, 2020 21:34. "What's Chinese, what's not? Is boycott pragmatic?". India Today. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
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- ^ Xiaobing Li (2012). China at War: An Encyclopedia. Publisher ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1598844156. Preface XV.
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- ^ "China's fake Apple shops point to impatience for the newest products". the Guardian. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
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- ^ Why it’s Still So Hard to Find Safe Baby Formula By Qi Yue (启越) The Economic Observer Online 2013-06-13 17:44
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- ^ Kharpal, Arjun (2019-03-05). "Huawei says it would never hand data to China's government. Experts say it wouldn't have a choice". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ Lee, Timothy B. (2018-08-14). "New law bans US gov't from buying tech from Chinese giants ZTE and Huawei". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ Doffman, Zak. "China Just Crossed A Dangerous New Line For Huawei: 'There Will Be Consequences'". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ P, Neelam; ey (2020-06-18). "VHP and its youth wings to begin 'boycott China' campaign, 'expose' its hand in Covid outbreak". ThePrint. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
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- ^ "'Boycott Chinese items' campaign gains momentum as China sides with Pakistan on JeM terrorist Masood Azhar". The Financial Express. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ "After boycott call, Chinese goods sale dips up to 40 per cent". The Economic Times. 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ Agal, Renu (2020-06-04). "Sonam Wangchuk is right. Time for India to hurt Chinese wallet and go Swadeshi". ThePrint. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ Ganai, Naseer (30 May 2020). "Magsaysay Awardee Sonam Wangchuk Calls For 'Boycott Made In China'". Outlook India. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ganai, Naseer. "Magsaysay Awardee Sonam Wangchuk Calls For 'Boycott Made In China'". www.outlookindia.com/.
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External links
- More anti-China protests in Vietnam as row escalates, The Sunday Times. Victoria Richards Published: 19 June 2011
- Indigenous products gain popularity ahead of Diwali, Yahoo News Mon 20 Oct, 2014
- We will boycott Chinese products NewsDay Zimbabwe May 19, 2012
- "Praying for peace" to boycott Chinese products?, By Mei Jingya, Sina English 2012-08-21 07:10:00 GMT 2012-08-21 15:10:00 (Beijing Time)
- Tanzania: Local Importers to Blame for Fake Chinese Products By Abduel Elinaza, AllAfrica 19 AUGUST 2014