Racist China: Indian-made iPhones smell curry

That too alongside Chinese iPhones on the exact date of September 22, which was never the case before as Chinese-made Apple phones always had an early release globally. Since then the Chinese social media has been abuzz with fake propaganda and racial jokes against the Indian-made iPhones.

Chinese are showing their frustration online over the decision of Apple to move its manufacturing network out of China and re-establish it in India.

One post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo alleged that the India-made iPhone 15 units are being sold in China after failing the standard quality check in Europe.

This obviously is fake news being circulated by Chinese netizens who are even asking for a total boycott of the Indian-made iPhone 15 models in China.

Another post, racist in nature, claimed that Indian workers have a habit of eating curry rice with their hands, touching smartphones after wiping their eyes, which suggested that iPhones from India might have cleanliness issue.

The post hinted that a person with cleanliness preferences would refrain from buying iPhones made in India as they might not be properly sanitised and also could have a foul smell, similar to curry.

The next post translated from Mandarin stated, "The initial release seems quite random. First, let's tear off the packaging and savour the aroma of curry; it's alright in India, it's clean and hygienic, folks." This does not ends here as multiple Weibo and X users purposely posted photos via their accounts showing dust particles on camera lenses and the phone's motherboard as proof of low quality of India-made iPhone 15s. Some are even calling India a backward country in Southeast Asia.

A report in China Daily, a state-controlled publication, refutes claims of diversion, stating, "China is one of the largest markets for Apple, and the production capacity of India cannot meet the demand in China."

The online slugfest between the Chinese and Indian netizens is leading to more controversies Chinese consumers have taken a liking to racial slurs and stereotypical comments about Indians on social media.

But, back in India, smartphone users who have purchased the latest iPhone 15 handsets were quick to rebuff any such misinformation, stating that the new units are performing superbly well without any glitch.

The racist meltdown in China against India hints at a number of things and most evident is the fear of losing the spot of the biggest iPhone manufacturer to India. Currently, Chinese factories make 90% of iPhones for Apple and India accounts for only 7%.

As per a report, Apple is planning to scale up its operations in India, increasing the output from USD 7 billion to USD 40 billion in the next five years.

And by the year 2027 India could supply 50% of iPhones globally. But probably, the Chinese citizens could not digest this following a sort of “tech nationalism” on social media to defame the Indian-made iPhones.

In another development, China’s big smartphone maker Huawei has forged a comeback after facing huge sanctions from the US and started manufacturing its own chips. If this news is to be believed it means that Huawei has busted Western sanctions and is being seen as an alternative to Apple in China.

China is flaunting Huawei as a symbol of hyper-nationalism as the citizens have now started to believe that their products are superior. This shows that Chinese citizens are not aware of the reality of India and only believe what their media and government agencies serve them.

In the last two decades, China was a shiny economy where everyone wanted to make but in the current scenario, the tides have turned.

Multiple big companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Nike, Dell, and Apple have taken an exit from China due to its unfriendly policies.

All these companies are now looking for more greener avenues such as India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, where they can get enough infrastructure to expand and flourish.

Take Samsung for example, the company was making phones in India and now it is planning to expand its manufacturing capabilities for laptops.

According to a report by Bank of America, Apple is planning to move 18% of its global iPhone manufacturing to India by FY25. Apple slowly and steadily started building its base in India in 2017 – with a strong reliance on three contract manufacturers – Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. Notably, the latter's facility in Karnataka is set to be taken over by the Tatas. Apple has recorded staggering shipments of nearly 7 million units in 2023, and is expected to reach 8-9 million by 2024.

In terms of export volumes from India, Apple has already overtaken Korean rival Samsung, having shipped over $5 billion worth of iPhones in FY23.

China is seeing all this growth in India with envy. To top that India’s growing clout in G20 and G7 has riled up China but the racist meltdown is no way to respond.