[OrangeCar]

I cannot 'avoid' Chinese made mobile phones, thanks to the domination of China made phones in the world.

But I certainly can 'avoid' Chinese made / owned car brands, thanks to a wide variety of alternatives.

And I would like to stick to that. Avoid Chinese as much as possible.

We are a big nation (not area wise, but population wise). And if we collectively, as we grow economically, exert considerable clout, many things can change for Indians. The prospect of economic loss could -

- Help better treatment by airlines across to globe.
- Help Indians get visas fearing economic consequences.
- Help geopolitical positions, and thus better bargains - better fuel pricing, better tariffs, push for more investments, technology transfers, and reduced military posturing (just like China does).
And many more..

We should send a message, as one, that our business will not come cheaply.

[bsdbsd]

Originally Posted by KungFuPanda

I think its the Government's job to put policies in place to encourage companies to invest in the country. Also the government's job to make sure that any security risks are looked into when giving approval to companies that are setting shop here.

If we were to stop buying stuff just because it was not manufactured by an Indian company, we would be left with very little to buy.

I think we should be more worried whether a company is ethical. I would avoid companies that take advantage of child labor for example.

This.

The most sensible answer so far (ok, one of the most sensible answer!). Its the govts duty to ensure our survival and put forward policies to protect country's interests. As mentioned rightly above, for an "average consumer", a company's ethical standard should be the criteria, as its impossible to analyze a product in its entirety about its nature of the source of its contents/constituents/components.

[ShivrajG]

IMO Being patriotic has nothing to do with using a product manufactured in a country which is not directly involved in a confrontation with us.
If China has setup a shop here then they have hired locals as well creating an ecosystem where every one gets paid.
They are creating jobs and in turn getting revenue by selling their products.
People are buying Chinese products because they either like them or don't have any other options. if Chinese provide good phones who wouldn't want to buy ? and if you are worried about the money being used against Anti India Activities look at Pakistan how do they get the money ? major source would be Saudi Arab, Americans and Chinese combined then we should stop using Oil as well. There is no stopping to this Debate on Patriotism and Nationalism.

Be Proud of your Country and support where required.

[Nav-i-gator]

I don't care too much about the country of origin, but I do look for country of manufacture, wherever possible.

A Chinese/Korean/European/US company manufacturing products locally in India, giving employment to common Indians is much better than an Indian company contract manufacturing products abroad and importing into India for selling.

[JoshMachine]

Answering the question straight, in my view, NO. It is not unpatriotic to buy a Chinese car.

Technically speaking, there is a difference between the 2 words - patriotism and nationalism.

As defined by the American journalist Harris - a patriot is proud of his/her country for what it does. A nationalist is proud of his/her country no matter what it does.

Going by the above definition, I would feel that a patriotic view is more tolerant, liberal and receptive to a country's both good and need-to-improve acts.
And a nationalist view will be tending towards, all else be damned. Maybe not literally, but close to it.

So coming back to the question - is it unpatriotic to buy a Chinese car?
No. This time with an informed view. Ofcourse, this is assuming the Chinese car has better engineering, better features, and offers a better VFM (notional for now) as compared to other prevalent cars in the market.

However, to expand the topic or the subject to few other goods categories, here are few scenarios for contemplation:-

• If I am a car owner wanting to buy car accessories from Ali Express China - yes, I would go ahead and buy it, knowing most probably I won't get a better deal/right product elsewhere

• If I am a trader wanting to buy apparel/sundry goods etc from China - yes, I would buy it, knowing most probably I won't get better economies of scale elsewhere

• If I am an Indian Public Sector Undertaking/Govt official on the lookout to buy software for the organization - no, I wouldn't probably buy it from China knowing the not-so-famous history of certain Chinese companies in the news for data snooping etc.

• If I am an Indian Defence Forces official on the lookout to buy defence systems/weaponry etc - no, I would definitely not buy it from China due to clear inter-Govt undercurrents

and the list can go on..

[Malyaj]

I find this whole notion of ‘if you are investing in India, you are my friend’ very self serving. Patriotism cannot be defined in the context of job creation. It is a distinctly political concept. In fact a patriot would say ‘I would rather stay jobless than work in an enemy’s factory’. Assuming one has first classified a country as an ‘enemy’. Which begs the question - who classifies a country as an enemy? The government? So patriotism by definition is subject to state policy? Completely disconnected from individual opinions?

Is it okay to do business with countries that are known to have extremely poor human rights records and extremely good relations with our enemy country? This whole business of linking patriotism with purchases can weave such a complex web that at the end of it no one will be wiser.

[ACM]

This thread has come at the right time for me. It is something that has been on my mind for long.

For me.

1) I prefer to buy TATA or Mahindra (Even after ford tie-up). Even if they are in effect a JLR or Ssangyong. But yet I would not want to buy a market dud and the product must be of acceptable quality.

2) If other things are equal I would pay 10% extra to buy Indian but not say 20% for the same quality.

3) I would possibly not consider other nations much better options, but yes china for it's support to Pakistan and the MA factor makes me wish to avoid them as much as possible FOR NOW.

4) So the India flags I use in my car are Khadi and metal not plastic. But the car mobile charger no doubt come from china and surely a lot of the components of even the german car comes from china. Can't be helped. Even TATA and M&M cars would use a lot of china components.

5) It is about doing our bit. In the US Ford gets an undue advantage of loyalty / nationalism by americans so should our Indian brands. China is not in favour right now and so we might as well deselect it for now. Sadly Maruti is also Japanese. But a friend nation in some ways today.

6) That said I would not pick a fight with someone who thinks otherwise. It is fine. In the the long run we would hope that both China and India exist peacefully for a long while and trade well.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by KMT

Every time the news carries a report of India being given rough treatment by the Chinese government (eg- UN Security Council Membership, Arunachal border disputes etc), one wonders whether India should use its trade relationship with China as a political tool.

.........

Should the motoring community in India buy solely on price/value, or are there other criteria that we should consider?

If we go by this logic then even buying goods/services from other countries with whom we don't have great relationships would also qualify as unpatriotic. USA isn't our real friend as such and they are more concerned with trade only. It has some new found love for India simply because it was taken advantage of by Pakistan and also as a counter balancing weight against China in APAC region (or globally - only they know what they want to gain from us).

In reality the question should have been:

1) Is more (and balanced) trade with other countries such as China, help India in resolving some issues and reducing the hostility that we face from them? - The answer shall be a resounding YES but everyone has a a different perspective to look at things.

2) What behavior is ideally a patriotic behavior? Buying local when products are equally good and priced competitively? Helping domestic economy in direct or indirect ways? Asking law makers to encourage local manufacturing or services industry to give the economy a boost and also draft policies towards more exports?

[asingh1977]

I do not mind at all. As if the Indian public is patriotic towards each other. There is a constant war, on our streets with everyone acting like morons and driving like fools, be in Chinese or non-Chinese (read Indian) cars. If a Chinese car can live up to quality + price point, why not.

[neeravnaik]

There are good arguments to be made for both answers.

1. In a true capitalist economy free flow of goods should make people and cultures closer to each other and it will lead to reducing tensions and less conflicts between governments. Indian movies are considered better than Chinese ones in China and are very popular and play a big role in promoting our soft power there. More people interact and trade closer they will become.

2. Contrary to above it is not a perfect world and Chinese government and even companies have some of the most predatory policies politically and even economically. I personally cannot trust Chinese companies and it is a murky world out there.

[jaaz]

The Question itself is silly. Do you mean the govt. is unpatriotic in allowing Chinese imports? It is up to the govt. to decide. And as a common citizen, anything govt. has allowed is legal.

If someone purchases, a banned or illegal item from a enemy country, then it is unpatriotic.

In any case, the World is a global village now and most of the countries have adopted democracy. So, we cannot blame the citizens, for their governments mistakes. 90% of the world working population are striving for their daily bread, without minding who is at the helm of affairs.

[superbad]

The only way you can stop buying Chinese is if you give up your mobiles, computers, laptops, all electronic devices etc. In short, the Chinese are here to stay & we might as well make peace with it.
Coming to patriotism, if we feel so strongly about home grown manufacturers, then Make-in-India should progess to a point where NOTHING that sells in India is imported. Which is unlikely to happen.

[blacksport]

If buying Indian makes you a patriot, would consciously avoiding Indian products make you an anti-national?

I wouldn't buy a Tata or a Mahindra. I believe they make substandard cars. Yes, they are cheap to own, but they are also built cheap.

Go to any shop pick any two examples of the same product - one Indian and the other foreign - and 9 out of 10 times, the Indian product will be of a lower quality than the other.

We Indians do not have the skill or will to create good products, so I will buy foreign wherever my wallet permits.

Buying Chinese may be unpatriotic, but I don't care.

[prithvibelli]

I would like to provide a different perspective to this topic.

Many people here say that it should be the government who should be taking such policy decisions and not the people. But is there is a caveat to that?

Since India is a signatory to the WTO and other international trade bodies, is taking such policy decisions by the government permissible, and if so at what cost.

If such policy decisions involves heavy cost to India, then does it not fall to the people to do whats best for the nation?

[KungFuPanda]

Originally Posted by blacksport

Go to any shop pick any two examples of the same product - one Indian and the other foreign - and 9 out of 10 times, the Indian product will be of a lower quality than the other.

We Indians do not have the skill or will to create good products, so I will buy foreign wherever my wallet permits.

I don't think that in the global world we live in, it is that simple anymore. When we have cars being manufactured here and being shipped to other parts of the world, or when we have say garments being manufactured for example in Bangladesh which are sold the world over.

I think we need to judge each product in isolation based on its own merits.