India’s relations with China are faced with testing times with the Chinese under international watch amid allegations by the United States that the coronavirus pandemic was deliberately engineered to harm other nations through leakage of the virus from a laboratory in Wuhan from where coronavirus originated.
That both the US and Germany have sued China while demanding damages for the extensive loss of lives, the livelihood of millions and virtually shattering their economies is a cue to countries like India too, but the Narendra Modi government is taking care not to ruffle Chinese feathers too brazenly.
The farthest India has gone is to make it incumbent on any neighbouring country’s investment in India to pass through a process of the Central government’s sanction. Without mentioning China, that change in policy seeks to inject an element of transparency in China’s economic dealings with India.
True enough, the Chinese have reacted strongly to this attempt to rein in Chinese investment, but India has seemingly been unfazed by it. It indeed goes without saying that India needs to be wary of Chinese designs, going by Beijing’s actions in recent times, regardless of whether the US blame on virus leak, deliberate or otherwise, is true or not.
The manner and extent to which the Chinese have driven out of the market large sections of Indian small scale and medium scale industries through pricing their goods cheaper should be a lesson to India. Unbridled Chinese imports need to be bridled and the need for Central sanction should come in handy.
