Vivo-Dixon deal approval reveals India’s new China playbook

The government’s approval for Vivo Mobile India and Dixon Technologies to set up a joint venture has significance far beyond smartphone manufacturing. On the surface, it clears a long-pending proposal involving one of India’s largest electronics manufacturers and one of the country’s biggest smartphone brands. But the decision also offers the clearest indication yet of how India’s approach to Chinese-linked investments is evolving.

For years, discussions around Press Note 3 have largely been about restrictions and scrutiny of Chinese investment. Yet a series of approvals over the last two years suggests that India is no longer viewing Chinese participation in manufacturing through a binary framework of acceptance or rejection.