RSS affiliate rues surge in Chinese imports, calls for boycotting foreign goods

Indian Express

31-05-2025

Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the RSS, on Friday conceded that despite a call for boycott of Chinese goods in the past, imports from the country have increased.
'It is true that despite the patriotic public boycotting China and other foreign goods, imports from China have increased in the last few years,' SJM's convener Ashwani Mahajan said. The outfit blamed this trend on e-commerce platforms and foreign brands violating rules, apart from 'poor confidence' of India's business community in the country's manufacturing capabilities.
Mahajan announced a nationwide campaign for promoting indigenous goods, which he sought to link with national security in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor. He said the campaign was inspired by PM Narendra Modi's call in Gandhinagar earlier this week that traders must take a pledge to not sell foreign goods.
On Tuesday, Modi had made a veiled attack on imported goods by pointing out how 'small-eyed' Ganesh idols were coming from abroad. 'We must encourage village traders to pledge that no matter how much profit they make, they will not sell foreign goods,' he had said.
Suggesting that this statement was in context of Chinese products, the SJM said, 'Our forceful retaliation to Pakistan's misadventure has also brought to light our friends and foes. It is a welcome decision to snap or reduce trade relations with those countries which have helped our enemy in this recent war.'
India's imports from China have surged significantly in the past five years, with a cumulative trade deficit exceeding $387 billion from 2018-19 to 2023-24. India's imports from China have grown from around $70 billion in 2018-19 to over $101 billion in 2023-24, while exports have been relatively stagnant around $16 billion annually. 'The reason for this (surge) is that Chinese goods are also sold in India in a disguised manner; sometimes by removing the Chinese label and putting the Made in India label, sometimes by e-commerce companies and foreign brands violating the rule of origin and sometimes by importing from China in the form of intermediate goods,' Mahajan said.