CHINA: THE UGLY DRAGON - 2

Exactly 50 years ago, China had unceremoniously attacked the north east frontier of India. There was absolutely no provocation and what hurt the then PM Nehru the most is the backstabbing attitude of the Chinese leadership, especially after the fruitful bilateral talks that had taken place during late 1950’s.

In continuation of The Ugly Dragon series, I try to present the Socio Economic and political motives of the China as perceived by a commoner like me.

                THE DRAGON STARTS FLYING

There was a time when Chinese travelers visited various Indian kingdoms and wrote countless books and scriptures about life and culture in India. There was a healthy cultural exchange happening through many centuries, hardly any reason for animosity to brew.

In a recent survey conducted by various think tanks of the western world, 80% of Chinese people don’t even remember the 1962 War against India.

Around 40% of the people have a positive attitude towards India and also want India to grow. Around 30% of the people are neutral and only a marginal 16% do not have a favorable opinion about India. In contrast, what has the Chinese leadership been upto?

Its an open secret that the Chinese provide more than half of the military technology to Pakistan, including their nuclear arsenal. China keeps lauding Pakistan for anything and everything they do or not do (including curbing terrorism which they don’t). In this way, China intends to keep the focus of India firmly divided between itself and Pakistan all the time.

Politically, China employs the stick and carrot policy to Pakistan and thereby increases its influence along the borders of Kashmir. A couple of years ago, when there were severe floods and earthquake in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, China offered to rebuild all the infrastructure. This way, china gained access to the interior regions of PoK and now have set up multiple base camps inside. These base camps are also not very far from the LoC (line of control). In this way, china has the influence not only in Pakistan, but also in PoK and has the capability to enter mainland India from the disputed territory.

The access gained also leads to increased smuggling between India and China. Chinese economy is heavily dependent on exports. Chinese traders may illegally use this route to flood the Indian market with cheap and inferior quality goods. Now that we are talking about the economic impact China has had, let me quote two examples.

1 1. There is a town called Channapatna in Karnataka state, India. It is around 60 km from Bangalore. This small town was and is famous for its wooden toys. In fact, the toys became so popular that it is called “Gombegala ooru” in Kannada (meaning city of toys). The situation is such a worst state that there are hardly any industries left in producing these toys. Artisans’ population is vanishing. The reason: Cheap and inferior Chinese toys that have flooded the market, where the local industry just cannot compete and are forced to shut down.

2.   Silk Sarees have been woven and used in India for thousands of years. There are so many varieties of silk and the people weaving these Sarees are very highly skilled. Kanchipuram Silk, Dharmavaram Silk, Mysore Silk, etc. the names keep coming in. So what happened here you may ask?
A decade ago, some of the best silk weavers from India were taken to China. They were promised and given a fortune to teach their art to Chinese weavers. RESULT: more than half the silk sarees sold in india are now made in china. Don’t believe me? Ask the trader you buy the saree next time and look for labels, if available.

How does china achieve so much penetration into a market? Answer is very simple. Their goods are priced very less compared to locally available goods. It’s not only in india, but the entire world. From the chargers we use for mobile to the phones we use, to the planes we fly. All are made in China. How do they price so less? Look at their exchange rate of the currency.

The US has categorically stated that the Chinese currency is highly undervalued and hence, they qualify for being the hottest exporter in the world. It is not entirely false. But the basic question anyone would ask is wouldn't it hurt the imports of China? Shouldn't they have to pay through their nose to get it?

The answer is: No, not always. China uses the barter system to keep the costs down. For example, they swap food grains for oil, thereby circumventing the issue of currency valuation completely in many situations.

In conclusion, a lot can be said about the way china is conducting its business and their policies. But all I can say is, if we commoners lie, copy and cheat; its illegal and we might be even punished for the same. But if the leaders of a nation do it, it’s then called “Politics”.