India relaxes restrictions on Chinese companies investing in India, with the condition that they must transfer technology, causing outrage among Chinese netizens!
At the end of July, The Times of India reported that India may conditionally ease restrictions on Chinese companies in the electronics sector, with the core requirement being only one: to establish a joint venture and transfer technology. "India will not support pure assembly work," said an official from India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, setting the tone for India's recent "relaxation policy" toward Chinese enterprises.
The National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog), India's top government think tank, has proposed allowing Chinese companies to acquire up to 24% of shares in Indian companies without additional review. From the firm stance at the beginning of the year, which limited Chinese investment to 10%, to the current proposal of technology for market access, the change in India's policy trajectory is intriguing.
The shift in India's policy is driven by clear industrial ambitions. The Indian government aims to increase the local value addition of smartphones and consumer electronics from the current 15%-20% to 30%-40% by attracting Chinese investment and technology.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in India clearly stated that Chinese investment is "crucial" for promoting India's domestic manufacturing and the upcoming component incentive program. However, technology transfer becomes an unnegotiable condition, as Indian officials emphasized: "Chinese companies investing in India must transfer technology to the joint ventures they establish." In response, Chinese netizens expressed their dissatisfaction in direct language.
"Lure them in and kill them," was a comment from a netizen in Anhui, concise and straightforward, which received high praise under the news article. It reflects the general suspicion of Chinese netizens towards India's new policy. Another netizen from Jiangsu predicted: "I believe there will still be some foolish ones who go." Some netizens' sarcastic comments were even more sharp. One summarized: "There are three things absolutely not to do on this planet: 1. Smuggling drugs in China. 2. Tax evasion in the United States. 3. Investing in India." This comment received widespread agreement and became a popular post.
Behind these sharp comments are the painful lessons of countless Chinese companies investing in India. The technology transfer condition is just the surface; the deeper issue is the struggle for industrial dominance. As global supply chains are restructured, this battle over technological sovereignty has only just begun.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838515063021580/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.