The impediment is issuing delayed visas to the Chinese people for over a month and relentless government scrutiny of Chinese firms doing business in India.
After years of rough patches, Indian electronics manufacturers are hoping the geopolitical scuffles between the two countries will ease down soon after PM Modi and Xi Jinping decided to meet with each other. Therefore, it will be easier to ramp up technology transfers, the transportation of capital goods, and increasing investments from Chinese firms.
The border dispute with China has led to the loss of $15 billion ( Rs 1.25 lakh crore) in production and 1,00,000 employment in the concerned sector in the past four years, reports, an Indian media. The situation appeared against the backdrop of issuing delayed visas to the Chinese people and relentless government scrutiny of Chinese firms doing business in India. The electronics manufacturing industry has notified the government that the nation lost $10 billion worth of export opportunities along with a $2 billion value addition loss.
According to a leading business daily in India, some industry insiders opined that although tensions are continuing to ease, Chinese companies are now extremely cautious about sending their executives to India or making new investments because the trust issue seemed to have been lost a few years back. An executive in India’s manufacturing business said that his business has been in terrible shape since 2020 due to the harsh restrictions by the government.
The nation’s growing electronics industry, which has been dependent on China for over a decade, has suffered extensively owing to delayed visas and stern restrictions on moving capital goods. The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) and Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT) are constantly requesting the government speed up Chinese citizens’ visa process. A couple of months back, reports added that around 4,000-5,000 visa applications of Chinese executives are yet to be approved.
An industry executive told the media that the government has assured them that visa approvals under the e-visa scheme will be fast-tracked after getting appropriate documents from the sponsored companies. If found legal, e-visas will be given within 15 days. An official from a Chinese smartphone company said that if the bilateral discussion ends positively, investments and e-visa challenges will be solved. Things that worsened earlier and for a shorter time are expected to be improved again.
