China Inc. fears COVID-19 will further hamper trade with India

'We are trying to get work done over internet, but losses are piling up'

Representative image | Reuters Representative image | Reuters

China Incorporation in India has already suffered a loss of over $50 million, with India cancelling all visas from China to curb the spread of COVID-19, the deadly coronavirus disease, which has become a pandemic. 

On February 4, the Indian government revoked all existing visas issued by the Indian missions in China, including long-term ones. At that time, the death toll in China was officially over 400. In the subsequent days, the death toll has gone up to 2,856 and counting. Latest figures put the number of people infected at 83,300 across 50 countries. 

At a meeting to discuss the economic impact of the disease, leaders of China-India business associations expressed concern over the existing visa situation. Harris Liu, head of chief representative, secretary-general, Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in India (CCEI), said that a lot of Chinese expatriates who are working in business and manufacturing establishments set up by the Chinese in India had returned home for the Spring Festival, the biggest celebrations in the Chinese calendar. They remain stuck in China, with the revocation of their visas. 

“Only around 2,000 people from Chinese enterprises are left in India. While we are trying to get as much work done over internet, it is not the same, and the losses are piling up,” said Wang Yonglin, chairman, CCEI, urging the Indian government to lift certain restrictions on the visas, to at least consider entry of people who are not from affected districts and those who are not infected. 

Liu said that in Noida alone, there are around 200 mobile phone and phone parts manufacturing units, employing 60,000 locals. “Another 100 Chinese companies were set to open shop in India by the year end,” he said, expressing worry that the tempo will flag. 

The disease, which is spreading across the world, has remained mostly out of India because of the quick and stringent restrictions India imposed on travel from China. Apart from a few people who were infected in Kerala, the rest of the country has remained unaffected. Given the density of India's population, spread of such a virus could have devastating effects in this country. 

In addition to cancellation of visas, India has imposed a 14 day quarantine on all travellers arriving from China. Air India also recently suspended operations to Iran, the biggest cohort of COVID-19 in West Asia. 

Apart from mobile phones, the automobile sector is another one which is taking a hit because of COVID-19. China accounts for 27 per cent automotive component imports. 

S Muralishankar, president of the Association of Indian Forging Industries said that “On the one hand, China has suspended shipment by sea until further notice, air shipments are not conducive for heavy industries like automobiles. Besides, the government has issued a notification mandating the decontamination of containers at the port before release to the Indian Customs. However, the guidelines or procedures to be followed for decontamination have not been notified, therefore it is not possible for the Indian importers to clear consignments that have already reached Indian Shores on time.” 

Chinese industry representatives say that a lot of production work, which was suspended in China, is slowly resuming. China has been successful in isolating the worst affected province, Hubei, without it impacting the GDP much since Hubei is not a thriving commercial or manufacturing centre like Guangzhou or Shanghai. It contributes to just about 4 per cent of the country's GDP.