The Indian government has banned 59 Chinese smartphone applications (apps) such as TikTok and WeChat. It’s the result of a great spread of anti-China sentiment in India. After Chinese and Indian troops engaged in a fight at the Himalayan border.
According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 29th, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced the decision. He stated that it is a measure to guarantee the safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace. As a result, people in India will not be able to use 59 Chinese apps. Including short video sharing service TikTok, China’s largest mobile messenger WeChat, and Game Clasio Barks.
The anti-China sentiment in India spreading to the ban of Chinese apps
Analysts say anti-China sentiment in India, including border disputes, may have been behind the move. Anti-China sentiment is growing day by day in India. After more than 20 Indian soldiers died in the clashes with Chinese troops on the Himalayan border on the 15th. Previously, demonstrators gathered in memory of the dead Indian troops burned photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressing hostility toward China. As a result, the Indian branch of China’s smartphone maker, Xiaomi, is operating under cover of signs.
Bloomberg analyzed that India’s move would deal a significant blow to China. India, which has a population of 1.35 billion, is the largest market in the digital industry. The news agency estimated that India alone has 120 million TikTok users.
This is not the first time India has taken a hostile action against China after the border clash. Earlier, the Indian government decided to exclude Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE from the business of establishing telecommunication network of BSNL, a state-run news agency. On the 18th, DFCCL, an official of India’s Ministry of Railways, said it would scrap a 4.7 billion rupees construction contract carried out by a Chinese company.
