Japan offers subsidies to firms shifting base from China to India, B'desh, ASEAN countries

Japan's Ministry of Ecomy, Tre and Industry has said it will provide subsidies to Japanese manufacturers that shift ir manufacturing setups from China to ASEAN countries. ministry also said it will d India and Banglesh to list of relocation destinations, according to Japanese media.

This comes as world's supply chain was disrupted after outbreak of COVID-19 which originated in China. A majority of countries including Japan relied heavily on China which was cut off after outbreak of COVID-19 in country.  countries have w started mulling on options to eir exit from China or at least reduce ir dependence on it with respect to tre or or procurements.

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Japan to reduce dependence on China

Japan too aims to decentralise its supply chain by reducing its dependence on a particular country for medical and well as electronic components supply.  Japanese government has allocated 23.5 billion yen in 2020 supplemental budget for subsidy to encour companies to disperse ir manufacturing sites across ASEAN region.

In concurrence to  second round of applications that began on September 3, projects contributing to resilience of ASEAN-Japan supply chain were ded to list, along with relocation plans to India and Banglesh.

second round of application targets feasibility studies on decentralising manufacturing sites, experimental introduction of facilities and implementation of model projects. total amount of subsidies which will be provided is reported to reach several billion yen, said Nikkei.

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China's misdeeds

Besides COVID-19 pandemic, China has also been criticised in international community over its imposition of draconian national security law in Hong Kong, in turn threatening automy of tre city. Moreover, ASEAN countries, Australia, India, Japan and US have moved against China for its aggression in South China Sea.

China has also shown aggression towards India along LAC twice this year. earlier violent faceoff in June h led to martyrdom of 20 Indian army soldiers including a commanding rank officer. latest flare-up occurred in late August during which Indian Army foiled ir attempt to unilaterally change status quo on LAC.

China has been kwn to strong-arming its way with weaker countries and exercising debt trap policy by luring countries into offering capital and resources for development. Sri Lanka remains prime example of China's debt-trap policy besides some of African countries.

(With ANI inputs)

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