While Chinese companies operating in India are reticent to speak publicly about the scrutiny, Xiaomi, which has written a letter to the Centre, shows that they continue to struggle in India, especially in the smartphone space where many critical components come from Chinese suppliers.
The Chinese company, which has the biggest share in India’s smartphone market at 18%, assembles smartphones in India with mostly local components and the rest imported from China and elsewhere.
India ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses after a 2020 border clash between the two countries killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four from China, disrupting investment plans of big Chinese companies and drawing repeated protests from Beijing.
While Chinese companies operating in India are reticent to speak publicly about the scrutiny, Xiaomi, which has written a letter to the Centre, shows that they continue to struggle in India, especially in the smartphone space where many critical components come from Chinese suppliers.
In the letter, Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B. said India needed to work on “confidence building” measures to encourage component suppliers to setup operations locally.
“There are apprehensions among component suppliers regarding establishing operations in India, stemming from the challenges faced by companies in India, particularly from Chinese origin,” Muralikrishnan said, without naming any companies.
The mobile firm also raised related to compliance and visa issues that it didn’t elaborate on, and other factors. It said “the government should address these concerns and work to instil confidence among foreign component suppliers, encouraging them to set up manufacturing facilities in India.”