Table of Contents
THE SMARTPHONE DOMINANCE
- Chinese smartphones brands, led by Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo, are market leaders in India with an estimated 72% share put together, leaving Samsung and Apple behind, according to a report by Gateway House. Quarterly data by Counterpoint corroborates this.
DETAILS
- The India sales of those top Chinese smartphone brands totalled more than $16 billion in 2019, according to IDC (International Data Corporation)
INDIA
- Indian government officials said they plan to impose higher trade barriers and raise import duties on around 300 products from China. India currently has a $59.3bn (£47.7nb) trade deficit with China
IMPACT
- The decision will target imports worth $8-10 billion with the aim of deterring non-essential lower quality imports which render Indian products uncompetitive.
UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS
- Bilateral trade between China and India was worth $88 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2019
UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS
- China accounted for over 5% of India’s total exports in financial year 2019-20 and more than 14% of imports. Meaning, India runs a huge trade deficit with China, the biggest exporter to India.
WHAT CHINA SELLS TO INDIA
- Chinese exports to India comprise smartphones, electrical appliances, power plant inputs, fertilisers, auto components, finished steel products, capital goods like power plants, telecom equipment, metro rail coaches, iron and steel products, pharmaceutical ingredients, chemicals and plastics and engineering goods, among other things, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
CHINA DEPENDENCE
- But, according to the same reply, India imports twothirds of its active pharmaceutical ingredients, or key ingredients of drugs, from China.
THE BIGGEST QUESTION – WILL INDIAN BOYCOTT HURT CHINA?
India’s imports from China (that is, China’s exports) are just 3% of China’s total exports. More importantly, China’s imports from India are less than 1% of its total imports.