China’s weaponisation of e-supply chains

With large-scale electronics manufacturing important to India, New Delhi needs to speed up its future-proofing

"China’s weaponisation of e-supply chains" का मतलब है कि चीन वैश्विक इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स और तकनीकी आपूर्ति शृंखला (e-supply chains) को एक रणनीतिक हथियार के रूप में इस्तेमाल कर रहा है। इसका उपयोग वह आर्थिक, राजनीतिक और सैन्य प्रभाव बढ़ाने के लिए कर सकता है। इसे तीन प्रमुख बिंदुओं में समझ सकते हैं—

1. तकनीकी निर्भरता का उपयोग दबाव बनाने के लिए

चीन दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स मैन्युफैक्चरिंग हब है और कई महत्वपूर्ण टेक्नोलॉजी उत्पादों (जैसे सेमीकंडक्टर्स, 5G उपकरण, इलेक्ट्रिक बैटरियाँ, रेयर अर्थ मटेरियल) का प्रमुख उत्पादक और निर्यातक है।
अगर कोई देश चीन की नीतियों का विरोध करता है, तो चीन उस देश को ज़रूरी टेक सप्लाई रोक सकता है या कीमतें बढ़ा सकता है, जिससे उसकी अर्थव्यवस्था प्रभावित हो सकती है।
उदाहरण: अमेरिका और चीन के बीच सेमीकंडक्टर युद्ध, जहां चीन ने अमेरिका को महत्वपूर्ण दुर्लभ खनिजों की आपूर्ति सीमित करने की धमकी दी।

2. साइबर सुरक्षा और डेटा नियंत्रण

चीन की टेक कंपनियाँ (जैसे Huawei, ZTE, TikTok) दूसरे देशों के डिजिटल इन्फ्रास्ट्रक्चर में गहराई से जुड़ी हुई हैं।
अगर चीन चाहे, तो वह डेटा एक्सेस, साइबर जासूसी या नेटवर्क को प्रभावित करने के लिए अपनी टेक कंपनियों का इस्तेमाल कर सकता है।
उदाहरण: अमेरिका और यूरोप ने Huawei के 5G नेटवर्क को राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा के लिए ख़तरा बताया और इसे अपने देशों में बैन किया।

3. सप्लाई चेन में रुकावटें और नियंत्रण

चीन कई महत्वपूर्ण टेक्नोलॉजी उत्पादों के निर्माण के लिए आवश्यक कच्चे माल (जैसे रेयर अर्थ मटेरियल) का सबसे बड़ा उत्पादक है।
अगर चीन किसी देश पर दबाव डालना चाहे, तो वह इन महत्वपूर्ण सामग्रियों की सप्लाई रोक सकता है, जिससे टेक इंडस्ट्री प्रभावित हो सकती है।
उदाहरण: 2010 में चीन ने जापान को रेयर अर्थ मटेरियल की सप्लाई रोक दी थी, जिससे जापान की इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स इंडस्ट्री संकट में आ गई।

क्यों रहा न्यूज़ में ?

China preventing travel by its citizens working as engineers and technicians in Foxconn

चीन के द्वारा अपने इंजीनियरों को वापस बुला लेना इसके बाद आवश्यक उपकरणों पर रोक लगा देना

mid-January this year, news emerged of China preventing travel by its citizens working as engineers and technicians in Foxconn’s facilities in India.

It was also reported that those already in India were being recalled, and that the restrictions extended to curbs on exports of critical specialised manufacturing equipment, over which China has a monopoly.

Foxcon कंपनी ने क्या किया ?

While Foxconn has reportedly scrambled / mix things in the wrong order to bring in Taiwanese workers to fill the gap in manpower, it is the stoppage of specialised equipment that is crippling.

Apple-Foxconn

remains critical to India’s ambitions of becoming a global manufacturing power, and, therefore, such strangulation will affect that larger objective.

What is at play

चीन की तरफ से क्या किया जा रहा है ?

1 Creating competition with India through regulations on flow of capital and other factors of production.

2 dominance in advanced machinery and a well-trained workforce in tightly integrated global electronics production,

China intends to also curb transfer of knowledge from Chinese technicians to their Indian counterparts on the assembly line.

3 Combined with the disruptions on account of non-availability of specialised equipment,

It will slow down production in India, and place itself in an advantageous negotiating position.

China Plus One diversification strategy

Reason

growing trade tension
tensions between China and the West, specifically the United States,
COVID-19-related disruptions have led many global corporations to adopt a China Plus One diversification strategy to future-proof themselves.

India is plus one country

India has been in the forefront to seek benefits from this move along with countries such as Vietnam and Mexico.

What china wants

Given the scale and the development trajectory of India’s manufacturing sector bearing potential similarities to that of the Chinese experience,

Beijing realises the need to

stop the rise of its geopolitical rival
global corporations of its own indispensability to the production ecosystem.

भारत सरकार की तरफ से उठाए जा रहे कुछ महत्वपूर्ण कदम

राज्य सरकारों के साथ मिलकर काम करना ताकि एप्पल फॉक्स कौन हमारे दक्षिणी राज्य में प्लांट बन सके

Over the last few years, the Indian government, in coordination with its State governments, has pulled out all stops to entrench Apple-Foxconn’s investments in the southern part of the country.

1 The efforts bore fruit in 2023, with the assembling of iPhone 15 models at Foxconn’s facility in Sunguvarchatram, Tamil Nadu along with another line in Tata Electronics’ plant in Hosur, Karnataka.

2 In the fiscal year ending March 2024, Apple assembled $14 billion worth of iPhones in India, through contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron and Tata Electronics.

3 In 2024, for the first time, iPhone 16 Pro models were assembled by Foxconn in India. State governments in south India have prioritised Apple-Foxconn in their pursuit of investments.

4 The conferment of the Padma Bhushan on Young Liu, Chairman of Foxconn, in 2024, further underscores the company’s importance for India.

A pillar of ‘Make in India’

Large scale mobile manufacturing

Large-scale electronics manufacturing, especially of smartphones, is one of the important pillars of the ‘Make in India’ programme.

The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme

which was launched first in the electronics industry in 2020, has witnessed increased allocation by the central government — a sum of ₹8,885 crore ($1.02 billion) in the Union Budget this year, rising from ₹6,125 crore in the Union Budget 2024 ($0.70 billion).

A recent news report revealed that over three financial years, from 2022-23 to 2024-25, Apple’s contract manufacturers in India (Foxconn, Pegatron and Tata Electronics) had cumulatively received close to ₹6,600 crore ($0.76 billion), out of the total disbursed amount of ₹8,700 crore ($1 billion) under the PLI scheme.

completely removed basic custom duties/import taxes

In addition, the Union Budget 2025 has completely removed basic custom duties/import taxes on mobile phone components such as printed circuit boards, camera modules, connectors, and sensors, as also different capital goods/machinery for use in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries for mobile phones.

जब भी संबंध नॉर्मल होने लग जाते हैं तभी वह कार्यवाही करता है

It is notable that China’s action happened just a few months after the thaw in India-China ties, post the patrolling agreement in October 2024 to end a four year-long military standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.

India needs to think long term

There are no easy solutions for India in the short term

1 it needs to involve both Apple and Foxconn to negotiate with China for easing Beijing’s latest measures.

Given that these corporations have stakes in both countries, their involvement could possibly help India’s case.

For a well-rounded and holistic manufacturing ecosystem

that includes production of various components, ancillary industries need to be incentivised and scaled up.

The National Manufacturing Mission

for small, medium and large industries, announced in the Union Budget is a good step, but it needs credible financial muscle that leads to development of clusters for technological knowledge-sharing.

On-site training for workers

which includes tacit sharing of knowledge on the assembly line, needs to be complemented and augmented with industry-specific specialisation in skill development programmes.

More private capital needs

to be encouraged in order to create a robust network of indigenous contract manufacturers for not just foreign corporations but also for domestic Indian brands.

Source the hindu

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