[Article / Observer Network Qi Qian] Last month, Apple officially announced the iPhone 12. However, the latest iPhone in this series is facing delays in customs clearance in India.

　　 On November 25, two people familiar with the matter revealed to Reuters that India intends to start with the quality inspection standards of imported goods and strictly control electronic products from China. Although Apple has an assembly plant in India, most of the company's equipment is manufactured by Chinese manufacturers, and newer models are also assembled in China. This means that the iPhone 12 manufactured in China was the first to be affected.

　　 It is not yet clear how long the iPhone customs clearance time has been delayed, but Apple India executives called on the Indian side to speed up the approval process.

Screenshot of Reuters report

　　 According to Reuters, the Bureau of Standards of India (BIS) used to review imported electronic products for about 15 days, but now some applications need to be reviewed for two months or more.

According to data from the Bureau of Indian Standards website, as of November 25, there were 1,080 applications for laptops, tablets and other electronic devices submitted to the agency pending, of which 669 had a waiting time of more than 20 days, and some applications were from 9. It has been waiting for approval since January.

　　 Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Indian government’s move was originally to strictly control electronic products from China, but it affected the import of Apple’s new iPhones, causing the newly released iPhone 12 to experience customs clearance delays last month. At present, Apple India executives have called on the Bureau of Standards of India to speed up the approval process and ensure that the company will continue to expand its assembly business in India.

　　 According to Reuters, although Apple has an assembly business in India, the newer models and iPhone 12 are imported from China, and most of Apple's equipment is made by Chinese manufacturers. It’s not clear how long the iPhone’s customs clearance time has been delayed, and Apple did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

　　 According to Reuters, Chinese companies such as Xiaomi, OPPO, Hikvision (45.160, -0.45, -0.99%) are also affected. In addition, South Korea's Samsung is also facing similar import obstacles. None of the aforementioned companies responded to requests for comment.

　　 Since the Sino-Indian border conflict, the Indian government has taken the opportunity to hype "China threat": ban 59 Chinese mobile phone applications, "black box operation" to seize Chinese containers, review the investment proposals of Chinese enterprises...In the economic and trade field, it has continuously used small actions against China.

　　 After a period of inactivity, India once again started on Chinese mobile phone software. On November 24, the Indian government banned 43 mobile applications for “endangering national security”, most of which were from China.

Anti-China sentiment among Indian folks, video screenshot

According to Reuters analysis, the Indian government has frequently suppressed Chinese companies and investment for two reasons: First, since the Sino-Indian border conflict this year, nationalist sentiment in India has been soaring, and many Indian traders and nationalist organizations have called for boycotts of Chinese products; After Indian Prime Minister Modi came to power, he has been trying to promote the "self-reliance" policy and localized production.

　　 A source said: “While the Bureau of Standards of India is delaying the clearance of certain electronic products, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India is promoting foreign companies to produce these products in India.”

　　 Want to be beautiful, but not necessarily well. Hong Kong’s "South China Morning Post" reported on November 22 that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to make the country "self-reliant" seem to be progressing. Since the launch of this "movement" in May, India's import trade from China has actually increased.

According to the report, not only is China still India’s largest trading partner and source of imports, but according to the latest government data, China’s share of India’s total imports has increased from that of the previous fiscal year in the past six months to September. 13.7% rose to 18.3%.

　　 On November 25, my country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated that since June this year, India has taken the so-called maintenance of national security as an excuse for four consecutive times to ban mobile apps with Chinese background. Relevant practices obviously violate market principles and WTO rules, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. China firmly opposes this.

　　 The Chinese government has always required Chinese companies to carry out foreign cooperation on the basis of abiding by international rules and local laws and regulations. The Indian government has the responsibility to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of international investors, including Chinese companies, in accordance with market principles. The essence of China-India economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win results. The Indian side should immediately correct this discriminatory practice and avoid causing greater harm to the cooperation between the two sides.