India Takes Advantage Of US-China Trade War: Wants Apple To Shift Business

India hopes Apple Inc. and other tech giants see the grass is greener on its side of the fence compared to China’s.

The Indian government has launched an intensive charm offensive aimed at convincing global tech firms to move out of China and relocate to India's many business-friendly locations. Nine sectors, including electronics, motor vehicles pharmaceuticals and telecommunications will be targeted by India in its relocate to India campaign.

China’s economy remains under assault from president Donald Trump and his punishing trade war tariffs that make doing business with China more costly, difficult and unpredictable.

India has drawn-up a list of target companies it plans to focus its relocation efforts on. Among these tech firms are Apple; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. or Foxconn (the top producer of Apple iPhones); Pegatron Corporation, an electronics firm from the Republic of China (Taiwan); and Winstron Corporation, an original design manufacturer from Taiwan.

In addition, India is also targeting major motor vehicle makers. Sources said Indian officials this week met executives from Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor Company and Honda Motor Company to see if they’d want to move some supply chain operations to India from China.

A document being circulated among Indian government agencies said government officials involved in this effort will meet with these target companies from Aug. 26 and Sept. 5 to suggest the best investment zones for their Indian operations. Indian state governments will also participate in the effort.

The foreign firms will be presented with a complete package detailing available Indian incentives. Leading the charge to convince foreign firms to head for India is Invest India, the country’s foreign investment promotion agency.

The Indian government will share a list of foreign companies with its consulates, which will set meetings with these firms. Indian promotions experts will then go to work to convince these firms to relocate to India.

India’s sternest competitor in the fight is Vietnam, which is a top Asian destination given its more stable and pro-business policies. Google is shifting its Pixel smartphone production to Vietnam from China later this year, according to media sources.

“There is one other monster country that has a huge domestic market, India, but they have got to get moving,” said Richard Rossow, a U.S.-India specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C.

“There is no time to waste in catching that new wave and in fact the question is: Have they already missed it?”