Indians have started implementing the ‘Boycott China’ campaign from social media to real life, well, a survey suggests so. Clashes in the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh have exacerbated tensions between India and China. After the Tawang clashes near LAC, a social engagement community platform named ‘Local Circles’ conducted a survey to “understand the pulse of the citizens regarding Chinese products and services including use of Chinese apps.”
As per Local Circles, over 40,000 consumers across 319 districts of India responded to the survey. 37% of respondents were women, compared to 63% of men.
As per the findings of the survey, 58% of Indians have curbed their ‘Made in China’ purchases while 28% of Indians found the Indian alternatives better in terms of quality, price, and customer service.
58% Indians reduced their purchase of Chinese products
The first question asked of the respondents was, “What are all the reasons that you reduced the amount you spent on purchasing Made in China products in the last 12 months?”
In response, 58% of respondents said they purchased “Made in India products because of India-China geopolitical developments,” 28% observed that “the Indian alternative was better in price-quality combination as well as, customer service, while 11% chose better quality Indian products, and 8% preferred an alternative foreign product because it had a better price, quality, and customer service.
Additionally, 8% of respondents said that the lack of Made in China products in markets, stores, or online was a factor in their decision.
The lack of a need to purchase any goods in the previous year was a decisive factor for 11% of consumers. Notably, 35% of Chinese consumers identified gadgets, electronics, and accessories as their top category of purchases during the previous 12 months, with 14% citing festive celebration products including lighting, lamps, and other items. According to Local Circles, this question was asked to around 11,707 people, many of whom opted for more than one category of answers.
Chinese gadgets continue to dominate the Indian markets
In the second question, the surveyors attempted to understand what category of Chinese products Indians continued to buy and what they were buying less.
The second question asked, “What are all the different categories of Made in China consumer products that you purchased in the last 12 months?”
The majority of respondents (35%), listed gadgets, electronics, and accessories as their top category, followed by 14%, who cited festive celebration items like lighting, lamps, etc., 8%, who had shopped for consumer electronics, and 8% more, who had bought home furnishings.
Only 5% of respondents and their families bought Chinese toys and stationery, and only 5% preferred Chinese gift items due to worries about the quality of the paints and other materials used. 11% however, said that they bought other Chinese products.
Only 3% Indians bought Chinese fashion products
Only 3% of respondents to a 2022 LocalCircles survey admitted to purchasing Made in China bags, clothing, accessories, etc., compared to 11% in 2021.
None of the respondents in the vehicle accessories category, down to 7% this time, admitted having purchased any car accessories made in China so far this year.
Even after some deviations, the LocalCircles poll conducted in 2021 and now shows that the demand for electronics made in China has increased year over year from 29% to 35%. The demand for festive celebration products has also increased, from 11% to 14%.
Consumer electronics and white goods demand went from 7% to 8%, toys and stationery from 4% to 5%, and gift products imported from China also saw a slight 1% gain.
29% Indians have at least one Chinese app on their mobile phone
Despite the fact that the majority 59% of Indian smartphone users surveyed have no Chinese apps, 29% still have one or two on their devices.
29% of the 12,601 respondents said that they had one or more Chinese apps installed on their mobile phones. According to the survey, 22% of people have one or two Chinese apps on their smartphones, 4% have three to four, and 3% have five or more.
Notably, the Narendra Modi government has taken several measures over the years to reduce India’s dependence on Chinese products and safeguard Indian users against security threats posed by several Chinese apps. In June 2020, India banned 59 Chinese apps including the popular TikTok app as well. Besides, in September 2020, the government banned additional 118 apps including the popular multiplayer online game PUBG.
On Saturday (December 17), the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) wrote to Union Minister Piyush Goyal seeking a change in the imports of goods and e-commerce policy. CTI also demanded to make it be mandatory to mention the country of origin on the packaging of every product.
Despite the challenges, the overall findings of the survey suggest that along with the government, the people of India have also decided to choose Indian products over Chinese.