Recently, I was listening to a fight (not physical) between my daughter and one of her friends in the neighborhood. As a result, their birthday party guest list got reduced by one kid, regular gift exchanges will be stopped as well as playing together will be soon be a thing of the past. After a while, my little one backed-off and took a break from her friend and realized how important the friendship is (loss-gain), especially during the Corona times. Following the break they changed the tactic and were ready to reconcile, which they did by apologizing and playing together again. In such harmless exchanges, I do not interfere and encourage my little one to deal on her own and conclude. For me it was interesting to see, how five year olds bring ideas to the table and change the tactics. After such exchanges, a postmortem does follow to understand the thought process and to give feedback as well as to learn.
The above incident has similarities to the videos and messages that I have been receiving to boycott “Made in China” products/services for reasons such as Corona and for creating tensions at its borders. Thinking on the same lines as the kids did, I could not see a gain through this boycott calls. A few lines from my thought process:
- In the current landscape where cars, planes, smartphones consists of components from various countries, it is highly impossible to boycott any major industrial country and its goods. The list of items should not stop with just some LED lamps, fireworks & apps, but should include most of the cars including Daimler Benz (10% shares owned by Geely), Apple products (made in China or electronic components are from China), Nike, etc.
- Advocating and inciting the public (in some cases for personal mileage) to boycott a country or race, is not the solution. We should look into the root cause. Is it the trade agreements or is it the common people like you and me, who look for cost effective deals, letting companies/governments make compromises. Potential solutions would be to renegotiate the deals or build/create local solutions/products to meet customer expectations. These will not happen overnight!
- In my opinion, calls to boycott products from a particular country is same as calls to reduce/avoid foreign workers in Western world (Indian IT engineers in USA). It is both discriminatory and not sustainable in the long run.
- Moreover such an action/call can backfire, given that China is a big market for several non-Chinese companies; Porsche, Infosys, Tata.
- China is not only primary source for various raw materials but also very cost-effective sourcing destination for various components, which is used by various companies across the world, including Indian companies. Finding alternative source locally and having to reduce the product margins, will not be smart, especially when the economy is struggling to reboot due to the pandemic.
Such a boycott call will lead to a loss-loss scenario in our modern world, again leaving the people to suffer. Let us take a leaf out of little ones and make a smart judgement, while looking for solutions, preferably collaborative ones. It is OUR call!
Very well said about this issue and feels very positive to hear it from a different perspective. It’s has been a bit overwhelming with reading and spreading about these boycotts.
Sometimes our younger generation has a lot to teach us and guide us. We should really appreciate their skills and approach with problem solving skills.
Thank you for your feedback. Agree with your comment on learning
Dear Deepak,
good views on the very delicate topic. on one hand I agree with you that 100% implementation is impossible, but we have to look if there are ways to deal with it.
Renowned education expert Sonam Wangchuk’s iew that Indians should boycott the use of Chinese goods. Let’s see what he has to say, what do you think.
Q: Why do ordinary people take the initiative to boycott? Why isn’t the government restricting the import of Chinese goods?
Wangchuk’s answer: The government has to follow certain rules and regulations in making such a decision, considering the relationship between the two countries. There are many things in this. Therefore, it may be difficult for the government to ban direct imports. But the people imposed some restrictions on themselves. The people have the right to choose. As the customer is the king, no country in the world can ask why you are not buying this thing. Why should we wait for the government. If people start doing something, then the government also decides and makes policies according to the behavior and will of the people. Instead of asking what your country does for you, ask yourself what you do for your country, said US President Kennedy.
Q: Is it possible to boycott goods from a big country like China?
Wangchuk’s answer:
If a country is a tyrant, why not? This is possible if the people have the will. When a revolution broke out in the Arab world, it was sparked by a vegetable seller. The dictatorial governments of five to six countries were on the lookout. So, if there is so much oppression and extortion at the door of our country, why can’t we do such a thing? Even if we have nothing left, we have our wallet. Remember that the customer is the king.
Q:
Why boycott China? Isn’t this hateful?
Wangchuk’s answer:
This is not an attempt to spread hatred. We have no problem with the Chinese. I have many friends in China. We have a problem with the Chinese government and their policies. The policy of the Chinese government is expansionist and exploitative. The world is quiet about everything about China. So the call for a boycott is an alarm that we are giving to the world. In China, 140 crore workers are employed as prisoners. If someone says something, he is disappeared. But the world is quiet because they want to trade with China. In China, 1.2 million Tibetan Buddhists out of 6 million were killed. Six thousand temples and monasteries were demolished. However, the world is quiet because we want to do business with China. As far as Uighur Muslims are concerned, they have a population of one crore, of which one million are incarcerated. Thousands of mosques have been demolished.Because the world does business with China. Look at Sri Lanka, which has been squeezed under China’s debt. The port of Amantota has been taken over by China. Pakistan is so indebted to China that it is going to be like a slave. Anyway the world is quiet because it wants to trade.
Q:Can we work without Chinese goods? Parts of many goods are from China? What is the alternative if not Chinese goods?
Wangchuk’s answer:
We are drowning in Chinese goods. This speed is such that we act as if we have nothing in our hands. Life is not like the economy. Rules also have to be based on life. We need to know the difference between good and bad. Our rites and religions teach us to stay away from things that are evil, wrong, and sinful. For example, Muslims do not drink alcohol. The Sikhs stay away from cigarettes and tobacco. Hindu brothers do not eat beef. Jains stay away from not only meat but also things like onion and garlic. They don’t eat these things. So do these people go hungry when they travel anywhere? If not. Because these people are so determined that an ecosystem has been created. Jain food is available in many places today.Similarly, if we assume that Chinese goods are linked to crime, in a couple of years, all the alternatives will become in our country as well as in other countries, and we will not remember Chinese goods.
what do you think?
Thanks Kedar for your thoughts. Wangchuk say that it is about the trade. As I mentioned the deals/agreements are made at different levels. We who do not have the capacity to change the terms, will have less or NO impact on such calls to boycott. Moreover it will only create more troubles to weaker sections of the society. And talking about slavery, discrimination and killings is irrelevant heree as these unfortunate acts happens around the world, including INDIA.