4 yıl önce

China accuses India of 'violating market principles' in banning apps

Beijing lashed out at India after it banned another tranche of Chinese apps for national security reasons, the latest sore point between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

A logo of a smartphone app TikTok is seen on a user post on a smartphone screen on September 28, 2020, in Tokyo.

China has demanded India rescind a ban on more Chinese mobile phone apps amid tension between Beijing and other governments over technology and security.

India announced a ban Tuesday on 43 apps, many of them Chinese. It said they threaten India’s “sovereignty and integrity” but gave no details. That came on top of earlier bans on Chinese apps including popular video service TikTok.

"The relevant methods clearly violate market principles and WTO guidelines, and severely harm Chinese companies' legal rights and interests," said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a regular press briefing in Beijing, but gave no indication whether Beijing might retaliate.

“The Indian side should immediately correct this discriminatory practice so as to avoid causing greater damage to the cooperation between the two sides,” said the spokesman.

China said it had "serious concerns" about the move and India's "so-called pretext of upholding national security".

AP

Activists of Jammu and Kashmir Dogra Front shout slogans and burn photographs of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a protest in Jammu, India, Wednesday, July.1, 2020.

Border tensions

The United States and some other governments also have expressed concern about whether Chinese apps might be gathering too much sensitive information about their users. The Trump administration is pressing TikTok's Chinese owner to sell its US operation.

Tensions remain high between Beijing and New Delhi after a deadly June clash in a disputed area along their border high in the Himalayas that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unspecified number of Chinese casualties.

Anti-China sentiment

New Delhi had previously pulled 59 Chinese apps - including the wildly popular video-sharing platform TikTok - from its huge domestic market, with another 118 Chinese mobile applications, including the hit shoot 'em up game PUBG, were banned in September.

The latest tranche of banned apps includes Alibaba's AliExpress and delivery service Lalamove, as well as dating and live-streaming services.

Alibaba's investments in the booming Indian online market include digital payments platform Paytm and online grocer BigBasket.

Anti-China sentiment has soared in India since the clash and sparked calls for a boycott of goods from the neighbouring country.

India's imports from China, dominated by toys, cosmetics, home appliances, auto components and steel, totalled $74.9 billion last year, according to New Delhi.

SOURCE: AP