China ‘resolutely opposes’ India’s decision to ban more mobile apps

A day after India blocked 43 more mobile apps, mostly Chinese, Beijing on Wednesday (November 25) reacted sharply saying it “resolutely opposes the repeated use of national security” to ban such apps.

The Indian government cited activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order” to restrict the apps.

“China firmly opposes Indian side’s repeated use of ‘national security’ as excuse to prohibit mobile apps with Chinese background. Hope India provides fair, impartial and non-discriminatory business environment for all market players and rectify discriminatory practices,” said Ji Rong, Chinese spokesperson.

In a more detailed statement in response to the media, Ji Rong said the Chinese government had always required overseas Chinese companies to abide by international rules, operate in compliance with laws and regulations and conform to “public order and good morals”.

“China and India are the opportunities of development to each other rather than threats. Both sides should bring bilateral economic and trade relations back to the right path for mutual benefits and win-win results on the basis of dialogue and negotiation,” said the spokesperson.

On November 24, the government said that it was “committed to protect the interests of citizens and sovereignty and integrity of India on all fronts and it shall take all possible steps to ensure that.”

A total of 220 apps have been blocked in India amid border tensions with China in the past few months.

Also read:Apple removes nearly 30K apps from China’s App Store: Report

Viral video platform TikTok and popular shooting game PUBG were among the 59 Chinese apps that were banned in June, days after 20 Indian soldiers died for the country in a clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.

In September, the government banned 118 more apps saying they threatened the country’s sovereignty.

The apps blocked yesterday include Alibaba Workbench, AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, CamCard and WeDate. Most of the apps on the list are social media and dating applications.

India and China have had several rounds of military and diplomatic dialogue to resolve the border standoff but so far, there has been little progress on the ground.

Also read:Indian army asks soldiers to delete 89 apps from their phones