By Mao Xiaoxiao
Telecom and electric power equipment are two fields where Chinese companies have made the most breakthroughs in Indian market over the past several years.
However, some voices about "Chinese products threat"have been rising recently from some government bodies and business groups here in the name of safeguarding national security and interests of Indian industry.
Restrictions imposed upon Chinese products equipment will no doubt increase the risk and costs of Chinese companies operating in India. But by doing so, will India gain in the fields of security, commerce and economic development?
Escalating tone of 'Chinese product threat'
On Aug. 28, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) of India held a meeting with top executives of local telecom companies. DoT officials reportedly asked Indian telecom companies to stop using China-made telecom equipment in sensitive border areas, as the Home Ministry and intelligence agencies are concerned that these equipment could have spyware or malware built into them capable of tracking voice and data traffic from a location outside the country.
At the end of July, India's leading industry body Association of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) asked the government to levy import duty on Chinese power equipment. It said the domestic industry is being hampered by the products from China.
Assocham also accused Chinese power equipment producers of offering very low prices under the government subsidies. It said that India imported 8.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese power equipment in 2008, and therefore asked the government to restrict such imports.
Xinhua has learned from local sources that recently, there has been a trend that some Indian government bodies have been raising the tone of "security threat" from Chinese products.
While expanding its regulation list from state-run telecom companies like the BSNL to private telecom companies, the Indian government on Aug. 28 organized the meeting of telecom companies, making the issue clear and public.
