With several Chinese telecom companies shifting their manufacturing base to India, China's state-owned Global Times newspaper has expressed concern that this development could result in severe job losses. The warning comes as the Indian government intensifies its effort to attract Chinese investment under its ambitious Make-in-India project.

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"In recent years, countless Chinese companies have been included into the production chain for smartphone vendors. It is difficult to accurately determine how many Chinese workers are involved in the production chain," Global Times said in an article. "But what is clear is that all those workers face potential job cuts if smartphone vendors transfer the whole industrial chain of mobile production from China to India."

The article took special note of Huawei. Last week, the company announced that it would start manufacturing smartphones from India next month. Huawei "joining a wave of smartphone vendors establishing production facilities in the promising mobile market" would result in severe job loss, the Global Times said.   

Foxconn and Xiaomi are two other prominent Chinese telecom companies that have announced plans to manufacture their devices in India. The article called on China to take note of India's rise as a new processing base for manufacturers and ensure that it does not lose its competitiveness in the production chain.

Another article in the same newspaper said that since Chinese investment is on a rise in India, Chinese firms need to acquaint itself with Indian companies and labor laws. It further said that with the growing number of Chinese companies turning to India, it is necessary for Chinese firms to asses the political and economic risks of investing in India.   

The Indian government has put a special emphasis on the manufacturing sector to revive the country's economic growth. The Make-in-India project, which was launched in 2014, aims to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of transforming India into the world's favorite manufacturing hub. 

TagsChina and India, Make in India Program, India, China and Indian Economy