- Monday, May 05, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
GLOBAL Times, China’s belligerent state publication, never loses an opportunity to slam India and it was back to its best on Sunday (3) after Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor reportedly abandoned its massive investment plan in the South Asian nation and sacked all employees at its local operation centre. The step came after the company could not get regulatory approvals to buy a former General Motors plant because of, as per the Times, “the Indian government’s increased scrutiny of investment from China”.
According to a report by the Chinese tabloid, a Chinese business leader in India and an expert have slammed India’s business environment after Great Wall Motor shelved its plan and laid off all its workers. It quoted Harris Lu of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in India telling it on Sunday (3) that New Delhi doesn’t want Chinese-funded enterprises to enter important industries such as automobiles. He noted that “under India’s current investment approval system, it is unrealistic for Chinese-funded companies to hope to enter relevant industries and fields in India through mergers and acquisitions”, the Times added.
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The publication also said that a spokesperson from General Motors told India’s Economic Times that the company was not able to get required approvals within the stipulated time period.
In a statement, Great Wall Motor said it would continue to study the Indian market and look for openings in the future, the Times cited a Reuters report from July 1.
Liu Zongyi, secretary-general of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Times that instead of selling the General Motors plant to the Chinese carmaker, the Narendra Modi government hopes that American company would either stay in the market or sell the plan to local automobile enterprises at a low price.
Liu also said that the American firm’s determined decision to quit the Indian market proves that the openness and business environment in India did not meet its initial expectations. He added that multinational corporations need to make wise and cautious strategic moves on whether India can replace China as a potential investment venue.
“Despite the tough situation Chinese auto companies have encountered in India, Harris Liu said that the business environment in India is more or less the same even for European and US companies, except that the Indian media are not as keen to report government action against non-Chinese firms,” the Chinese news publication reported, adding, “General Motors is not the only international enterprises encountering obstacles in India. Tesla’s entry plan to India has also been put on hold in June as the Modi government insisted Tesla must commit to manufacturing vehicles locally before it will lower tariffs.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Friday (1) asked India to provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for investors from abroad.
