What’s New: India’s move to ban 59 mobile apps developed by Chinese companies is discriminatory and may violate rules of the World Trade Organization, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said.
China is seriously concerned with and firmly opposed to such action, Counselor Ji Rong said in a statement.
“India's measure selectively and discriminatorily aims at certain Chinese apps on ambiguous and far-fetched grounds, runs against fair and transparent procedure requirements, abuses national security exceptions, and is suspected of violating WTO rules,” Ji said.
The ban would affect jobs in India, Ji said. He urged India to change the practice and “treat all investments and service providers equally.”
Background: The Chinese comment followed India’s decision Monday to block 59 Chinese apps including the popular short-video platform TikTok, WeChat and Weibo. The Indian government said the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of state and public order."
The incident is the latest clash between the two Asian giants following a border confrontation in the Himalayas that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and an undisclosed number of Chinese casualties.
Related: India’s TikTok Ban Latest Overseas Setback for China Tech
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)
