China hyperventilates over India's fresh 47 app ban; mouthpiece threatens firms' retreat

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Monday banned 47 apps, which were variants and cloned copies of the 59 apps banned earlier in June. These banned clones include Tiktok Lite, Helo Lite, SHAREit Lite, BIGO LIVE Lite and VFY Lite. Irked by the Indian move, the Chinese government's mouthpiece has said that Chinese investors' confidence in India will be battered and hopes of an improvement in bilateral economic relations will dim if India moves to ban Chinese apps following its previous block.

'Firms will retreat from the country'

Global Times quoted an Indian daily in its report which said that India has drawn up a list of 275 Chinese apps that it will examine for any violation of national security and user privacy, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, the list includes gaming app PubG backed by China's internet giant Tencent, Zili by Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi, AliExpress by e-commerce giant Alibaba as well as apps like Resso and ULike from TikTok-owner ByteDance.

Among the Chinese apps being scrutinized now are 14 MI apps by Xiaomi as well as lesser-known ones such as Capcut and FaceU, according to the report. Quoting analysts and experts, China said that if the current tightened scrutiny leads to a ban on the 275 apps, it will deal a huge blow to foreign direct investment (FDI) in India from China.

"It means nearly all capital from China will plummet to virtually zero," Global Times quoted Sha Jun, executive partner in the India Investment Services Center of Yingke Law Firm as saying. "There was almost zero Chinese investment in India's manufacturing sector in the first half. If the fresh move against Chinese apps comes to pass, all Chinese firms will certainly prepare to retreat from the country," he noted. As of December 2019, China's cumulative investment in India exceeded $8 billion, the mouthpiece added.

READ | IT Ministry warns 59 Chinese Apps to comply with ban or face consequences; read details

The ban came against the backdrop of the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh with Chinese troops. The 59 apps with Chinese links blocked by the government included TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser.

READ | Is Clear Scanner a Chinese app? Origin country and developer details

China reacts to India's 'Digital Strike'

Reacting to India's ban of the Chinese apps at a Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing, spokesman Zhao Lijian had said, China is strongly concerned about the relevant notice issued by the Indian side. We are checking and verifying the situation. "I want to stress that the Chinese government always asks the Chinese businesses to abide by international rules, local laws and regulations in their business cooperation with foreign countries," he said.

READ | Is V Live a Chinese app and is it banned in India? All about its origin country, developer

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said India's surprise move to ban 59 Chinese apps was a "digital strike." "We banned Chinese apps to protect data of countrymen; it was a digital strike," Prasad said at a BJP rally in West Bengal, news agency PTI reported.

READ | India bans 47 more apps; most are clones of 59 earlier-banned Chinese-origin apps

(With agency inputs)