New Indian procurement rules hit Chinese crane suppliers

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It would appear to be a classic example of the law of unintended consequences – one of the more unexpected fallouts from the rising tension between China and India is the impact on the latter’s container ports, given that virtually every crane operating these facilities was built in China, which has a near-monopoly on their manufacture. However, an Indian government order last week now stipulates that any supplier from a country that shares a land border with it – which obviously targets China given the recent fatal borders clashes in the disputed Galwan River valley – now has to have security clearance. Which is going to cause a host of problems for India’s public ports; not just in terms of procurement of new equipment, but servicing of existing assets.