The popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasing not only in India but also in China. According to a survey conducted by Global Times, a mouthpiece and global propaganda outlet of the Chinese Central Communist Party (CCC), “more than 50 per cent of Chinese are fans of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The survey coming three months after the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley, claims that the Chinese citizens are happier about Modi than their own leaders. The intentions of the survey by the Global Times are not clear, but back home in India, the Chinese telecom giant Huawei has unleashed a massive advertisement campaign in the Indian newspapers. It looks like the tech company which is facing ostracisation across the countries in the European Union and the USA wanted to strike a chord with its Indian consumer base.
Huawei’s dreams to ride high with its 5G technology across the world have come crashing in the aftermath of the Coronavirus carnage that spread country after country and took a toll on tens and thousands of lives in the USA. The US President Donald Trump went at China hammer and tongs calling out COVID as ‘Chinese Virus’, “Wuhan Virus” and that “the Chinese have let down the world by hiding facts about the pandemic causing damage to the world”.
Adding fuel to fire is the ongoing trade tussle between the two giants. The Trump administration has barred the American chip-making companies from supplying critical components to Huawei citing the company as a threat to national security. The Huawei is also facing partial bans in many countries even as China continues to aggravate relations with countries like Canada. It has enough to worry already in India as Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group has thrown its hat in the race for 5G.
Amidst all these developments and anti-China sentiment running high in India, the Huawei and the Chinese masters are not keen to lose the country which is tipped to become the second-largest market in the world. Against this backdrop, the Huwaei has stepped up its campaign in India claiming India-China to be old friends and that they have been doing business in country for the last 20 years. It is certainly surprising to see Global Times singing paeans to Modi in sharp contrast with its earlier warnings made to India.