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India cries wolf on China's telecom products
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-09 15:24 NEW DELHI: Telecom and electric power equipment are two fields where Chinese companies have made the most breakthroughs in Indian market over the past several years. However, some voices about "Chinese products threat" have been rising recently from some government bodies and business groups here in the name of safeguarding national security and interests of Indian industry. Restrictions imposed upon Chinese products equipment will no doubt increase the risk and costs of Chinese companies operating in India. But by doing so, will India gain in the fields of security, commerce and economic development? Escalating Tone of "Chinese Products Threat" On August 28, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) of India held a meeting with top executives of local telecom companies. DoT officials reportedly asked Indian telecom companies to stop using China-made telecom equipment in sensitive border areas, as the Home Ministry and intelligence agencies are concerned that these equipment could have spyware or malware built into them capable of tracking voice and data traffic from a location outside the country.
Assocham also accused Chinese power equipment producers of offering very low prices under the government subsidies. It said that India imported US$8.3 billion worth of Chinese power equipment in 2008, and therefore asked the government to restrict such imports. Xinhua has learned from local sources that recently, there has been a trend that some Indian government bodies have been raising the tone of "security threat" from Chinese products. While expanding its regulation list from state-run telecom companies like the BSNL to private telecom companies, the Indian government on August 28 organized the meeting of telecom companies, making the issue clear and public. Market Competition Behind Threat Tone An expert on telecom security told Xinhua that Chinese equipment producers are committed to meeting domestic and international standards of security and post-sale security issues are actually taken care of by the local vendors. If there exists a potential security threat, the vendors will be have all responsibility. He said as most media people lack real knowledge of technological issues in telecom production, they have become unconsciously a collaborator in producing the fiction of "software spy". |
