Is the Indian community facing racism in China post India's boycott China movement?

India and China are facing off in the Himalayas at the line of actual control (LAC) from the last two months and the conflict seems to be escalating with the death of twenty Indian soldiers. Indians called for a boycott of "Made in China" products. There seems to be some retaliation on the Chinese side as well.

India and China having been non-confrontational neighbours since many decades have come to blows in the Himalayas. Recently both armies came to blows and India lost twenty of their brave soldiers. China did not mention the casualties on their side. This sparked a national outrage in India and Indian nationalists called for a total boycott of "Made in China" products. They burned effigies of the Chinese president 'Xi Jinping', threw Chinese goods on the streets and called for not buying anything from China.

Such behaviour is not new in India and there have been calls for Boycotting "Made in China" products several times in the past. But in the past, it was more related to the nationalists (swadeshi forums) and the domestic businesses calling for ban on imports so they can benefit. This time around the call was emotional and was made from the government ministers itself. The nationalists also trended hashtag boycott "Made in China" on several social media platforms.

While China has been rather hospitable to foreigners in the past, in the recent times it has also seen some kind of hostilities being shown to a few foreign communities, especially after the coronavirus crisis and its blame being thrown around. Recently the African community in Guangzhou have been at the receiving end of the local population. The African community was asked to vacate their homes and sleep on streets. Nobody knew what was the reason for such a behaviour though. Later the African diplomats had to engage with the local government to sort out the situation.

Similar kind of racist attacks might come towards the Indian community living in China in the backdrop of India's hostile response to China and its behaviour on the India-China border. Recently a cafe in Shenzhen, near Jingtian station (景田站) put out a sign board prohibiting Indians from entering. The image went viral on social media really quickly. This can be a one-off incidence or a sign of things to come in case the rhetoric around the India-China border skirmish isn't toned down.

Those Indians living in China have never faced any such incidence and considers China to be one of the safest places to live and work. This incidence has come to them as a surprise. While this kind of behaviour should not be promoted in both countries and governments on either side should work to resolve the crisis on a diplomatic level, the population must resist from flaring such sentiments. This might hurt people on either side.

According to locals the cafe owner has been questioned by the authorities and has been asked not to promote such behaviour. There has been no communication from the authorities as such. China does not have as big an Indian community as other western countries but it is home to many Indians who have settled there for work and many young expats, who are working there on various projects.

While China has become the factory of the world, it is obvious to receive many foreigners on its shores. It is especially important for China to make sure no such racists incidences tale place or tolerated by the authorities for keeping the Chinese reputation of a stable trading partner to the world. It is important that people who stoke such feelings must be booked and taken to task, as India and China diplomatically try to resolve the border confrontation.

Conclusion:

While India and China have been in confrontation in the border region in Ladakh, citizens on the Indian side called for Boycotting Chinese goods. This has led to massive demonstrations and social media activism on the Indian side. While on the Chinese side the response has been rather subdued, one of the cafe owners in Shenzhen put out a sign board asking Indians to stay out of his cafe. The picture of this sign board went viral on social media and local authorities had to act and question the person putting up the sign board. While we must hope this is a one-off incidence and things between Indian and China can be resolved diplomatically, it is important for people in both countries to not stoke such sentiments and try to calm down the rhetoric, for this is best in the interest of people on either side.