New Delhi: India’s revised foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, which aim to prevent the predatory acquisition of domestic firms weakened by the Covid-19 lockdown, have been labelled as “discriminatory” by China.
Beijing said the new policy violates global trading norms under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and G20 consensus, adding that they should be revised.
“#Chinese investment supports #India’s industry development, creats jobs & promotes win-win cooperation. Our companies actively helps (sic) India fight #COVID19. Hope India revise the discriminatory practices & foster open, fair & equitable business environment,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong tweeted Monday.
#Chinese investment supports #India's industry development, creats jobs & promotes win-win cooperation. Our companies actively helps India fight #COVID19. Hope India revise the discriminatory practices & foster open, fair & equitable business environment. https://t.co/Wc94SOs0LH
— Ji Rong (@ChinaSpox_India) April 20, 2020
The tweet came two days after India issued an FDI notification Saturday that mandates companies from “border-sharing countries” to seek government approval before making investments in the country.
So far, prior government approval was needed only for firms from Bangladesh and Pakistan, and investments from other countries were allowed under the automatic route subject to sectoral caps and rules.
The revised FDI policy is aimed at curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, said a press note issued by the department of industrial policy and promotion Saturday.
In a separate statement issued by the Chinese Embassy here, Beijing said the new rules had made it “much difficult for companies from countries sharing land border with India, including China, to invest in the country”.
As of December 2019, China’s cumulative investment in India had exceeded $8 billion, far more than the total investments of other border-sharing countries, it said.
“The impact of the policy on Chinese investors is clear. Chinese investment has driven the development of India’s industries, such as mobile phone, household electrical appliances, infrastructure and automobile, creating a large number of jobs in India, and promoting mutual beneficial and win-win cooperation,” it said.
Amid a pandemic situation, China added, both countries should “work together to create a favourable investment environment to speed up the resumption of companies’ production and operation”.
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‘New FDI rules violate WTO, G20 norms’
Stating that the new rules act as “additional barriers” for investing in India, China said the new notification was in violation of global trading norms under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Beijing added that the new rules “do not conform to the consensus of G20 leaders and trade ministers to realise a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment environment, and to keep our markets open. Companies make choices based on market principles.”
“We hope India would revise relevant discriminatory practices, treat investments from different countries equally, and foster an open, fair and equitable business environment,” the statement added.
Also Read: Modi must not extend lockdown. Economy won’t survive on ventilator for long
China supplies good antibody test kits US and other countries. All the rejected ones are sent to India, so in some way she has to exhibit discretionary attitude. Never mind, let us follow them, eye for eye.
The COVID Pandemic origininated and suspected to have been created in Wuhan virology lab in China has proven beyond doubt that they are the biggest enemy of mankind. In fact India only asked for prior approval for of FDI which is done to preampt China takeover of Indian companies in distress. Does this stupid country ever follow any International laws or norms that they talk abt WTO ? India on other hand should stop all trade relations with China and must seek alternate markets at all costs .They are dumping useless cheap goods gleefully worth $70 billions each year in India against paltry import. Even during the Corona crisis the barbaric dragon have supplied faulty testing Kits in the country in profit making spree. Why India alone the world should take harshest and strongest action the angel of death.
Predatory investments by Chinese should be discouraged. Chinese investments is followed by entry of thousands of Chinese workers. We don’t want to end up like Pakistan. The government has done the right thing.
It was only a matter of time before the coronavirus pandemic started to show a rupture in Western relations with China. Today, the market got some of the first hints of a rising probability of “decoupling”.
Evidence came today in the form of two BBC reports, one of the U.K. government of Boris Johnson (who has COVID-19 now) saying there would be ramifications for China failing to share how they stopped the virus from spreading. One such punishment was getting rid of Huawei in their 5G program. FORBES
Gordon Chang believes that when the dust settles post the Covid-19 outbreak, the course of history will be changed totally and one of the fallouts of that will be the end of China’s upward geopolitical trajectory. Chang, while speaking to The Sunday Guardian, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has “accelerated the widening division between the China led alliance on the one side and the rest of the world on the other”.
“Prior to the virus, the general narrative was that China would dominate the international system. In that unusually benign period, Beijing was able to make steady gains. Just about everyone extrapolated and believed China’s ‘rise’ would continue indefinitely. The coronavirus pandemic is an event that changes the course of history because it will end China’s upward trajectory. The pandemic is one event that history will remember”, Chang predicted.
Why is India driving away investment? Indian State is innately suspicious of any process, where it is not in 100% control. The DNA is “Statist” – not socialism and notwithstanding liberalization veneer. Even during the Socialist heydays, it was actually Statism.
Block the Chinese parasites trying to take advantage of a disaster THEY created!
Well done India
Shame on the Islamic Jihadist party BJP to sleep for 3 months meanwhile the Brutal Communist party of China were pumping money in India to control companies. Make no mistake, the Islamic party BJP have still not woken up to the mess they have created. They have heavily penalized Indian investors while allowing exemptions and SOPs to foreign entities and corporates alone at the cost to Indian investors. Even after all this mess, there is no plan by this Islamic Jihadist govt headed by BJP to boost the economy.
You don’t hide your name, Ur entire friends, brothers are jihadist, spoiling the peace in the entire world. Shame on you. Dare to go and settle in Pakistan , your in law house ?
Why chinese government have objections on New FDI rules. china will definitely try for hostile takeover of key indian corporates houses. Moreover government has just ask for approval, whats wrong in this. Every country has right to protect their financial and economic interests.
India needs FDI, but not of the Wolf in Sheep’s clothing variety.
Post Covid, relationships with Japan, South Korea, France, Germany and Australia will only become stronger. These nations and the US need a large developing market with a long growth runway.
Chinese investment is like a termite. It only hollows out the investee nation.
The government has taken a wise decision in raising the entry barriers. Let China cry foul. As such many countries will take steps to put a lid on uneven globalisation.
China’s protest gives their intentions away. That means they were seriously thinking of picking up sizable stakes in india’s listed important companies, when the prices are really low right now. This is a very timely move by the Modi government, one of the few sensible things they have done in last six years. But why limit the restrictions only to the Chinese? What is so benign about the Americans, or say, the Russians? Government should extend this rule applicable to ALL foreign companies.
Under what rules China does not allow facebook or What’s app in China. Similarly there would be tons of discriminatory rules in China. It only needs to be highlighted and the opaque state and private companies relationships there.
In a post Covid world, India will need a lot of foreign investment / inflows of capital. With growth having begun to collapse before the virus arrived, foreign investors will be more sceptical. Unless a specific Chinese investment has genuine security implications, it should be treated like anyone else. As far as Pakistan and Bangladesh are concerned, they are in any case not a source of serious investment. Whether this is a welcome development one cannot say, but the bilateral relationship is floundering. If it is any source of comfort, so are several others.
This investment in question is from the brutal Chinese Communist Party regime. In fact, the Islamic government of Delhi headed by Bharat Jihadi Party is discriminatory against INDIAN INVESTORS . They have double taxed dividends, taxed capital gains, banned dividends from banks. Before all this was GST and demonetization. And now they prefer Foreign investment while heavily penalizing Indian domestic investors.
Both big parties are a bunch of traitors.
Far from that, India should find the ways to discourage import from China. China is trying to use Covid19 as tool to take over world by using down valued companies world over with it’s huge US dollar reserves. Australia & Germany has already taken steps to prevent China from doing that. Only Nehru can think of China as friend. After communist Chinese takeover China is India’s biggest enemy.