One reason for OnePlus’s popularity is that it provides the same features that a Samsung or Apple does at half the cost.

War is a funny time for rhetoric, because rhetoric often gets swept up in fervour and loses its mooring to sense and reality. While Indian politicians have already deemed Chinese food anti-national—you buy that plate of chilli paneer, you have sold out to Beijing—a recent phone launch shows how differently Indians (or at least those who buy online) think. A survey by LocalCircles showed that 97% Indians did not wish to buy Chinese product, but a flagship offering by a major Chinese mobile phone brand, OnePlus, went off the shelves within minutes of its launch online. In fact, even amidst the anti-China rhetoric, Chinese manufacturers have been busy launching new lines of products. One of the largest selling phone brands in India, Xiaomi, had recently introduced its low-cost laptops.

One reason for OnePlus’s popularity is that it provides the same features that a Samsung or Apple does at half the cost. Most Chinese brands owe their success and market dominance to low-cost products. Besides, barring a few most of the top brands produce their products in China, so an anti-Chinese sentiment may not be plausible in the short-run. Raising duties and levies on such products will either price out the consumer or will only raise input costs. If the government does wish to fight to China where it hurts economically, it needs to turn India into a manufacturing base, not just for the domestic market, but also for the global export market. The only way this is possible is by reducing import duties and giving concessions to foreign players to invest in the Indian market and signing more FTAs.