To be or not to be… like China

India was more or less left unscathed by the economic slowdown of 2008. The country’s economy was not as closely linked to the global markets as that of China. That global financial crisis sparked the Great Recession and China’s economy took a severe beating. Interestingly, China imbibed lessons from our economy to recover from the brink of a severe meltdown.
Indian economy mostly depends on the domestic market for its growth. The major consumers of Indian goods and products are Indians themselves. China, which was focussed on exports to the global market, learnt this lesson from India and overhauled their economy within a short time. It started exploiting the opportunities in the market in the country with the largest population in the world.
They created the backdrop for this by creating job opportunities and increasing the income of their people. Today, China is not just the biggest manufacturing hub in the world, it is also one of the largest markets for its goods. For example, the second biggest market for Apple phone is China.
This was a silent revolution. There were no big declarations or speeches for this policy makeover. The Chinese government implemented it with quick and precise planning.
Now, when one of the worst of pandemic has hit India and the world, we have a golden opportunity to imbibe lessons from China. We can utilise this opportunity without much celebrations or grandstanding. It would be apt to keep in mind that it does not bode well to provoke China through political speeches that would force China to embark on military misadventures against India as we have witnessed recently.
In order to grow in the manufacturing sector, we need to learn much from China. Also, there are a few things that we should completely avoid from following the Chinese model. The Chinese are one of the most industrious people in the world. But we should also be aware of the fact that in China, there are circumstances that force the people to be industrious.
Though ruled by the Communist party, which has sovereignty of the labour class written into its manifesto, China is a country with one of the harshest labour laws in the world today. Their legal system enforces harsh working hours that may extend to 14 to 15 hours without giving much importance to the rights of the labourers. In order to top the medals’ tally in Olympics, China separates children from their family and bring them up as machines without giving much stress to individuality or freedom. In China, it would be asking too much to expect human rights, labour laws or humane protection as in a democratic society.
We should not be copying that ugly mode of development and implementing it in our country. Many States have amended labour laws after COVID-19 situation worsened. The supporters of such governments have been justifying the move saying this was necessary to attract huge foreign investments into the country. But we should not be copying the labour laws of a dictatorial country like China; we should protect and sustain democratic values even as we strive for a better industrial climate in the country. That doesn’t mean that we should bring in anti-industrial, socio-political conditions that exist in Kerala to other States. It is unavoidable to bring about a healthy development culture that observes basic labour rights such as work timing, wages and other protections, but one which is industry friendly.