India’s ban on more than 177 Chinese-owned apps leaves many people insecure, especially Chinese citizens conducting business in India.
“India is a difficult country to do business in the current situation,” said Chen Xiaoming, a Chinese national who did real estate business in Gurgaon, northern India, who left for China earlier this year.
After the Indian government’s decision to ban 59 Chinese apps on June 28, it was time to wait for Chinese companies to operate in India.
The list of banned apps included TikTok, WeChat, Bigo Live, UC Browser, Xender, SHAREit, Helo, Likee, CamScanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call – Xiaomi, and Clash of Kings.
And on September 3, India banned another 118 Chinese apps, including the popular game app PUBG.
Despite the tranquility of their Indian neighbors, friends and colleagues, there is an atmosphere of uncertainty among Chinese citizens doing business in India.
“We hope that the tension between the two countries will ease sooner or later, but we are a bit worried until that happens,” said another Chinese national working in Gurgaon on condition of anonymity.
Another Chinese national who works for a pharmaceutical company in Haryana said that there are serious doubts as to whether top Indian leaders actually receive advice from recognized professionals before the ban is enforced.
Some Chinese brands with manufacturing plants in India, such as smartphone market leader Xiaomi, are striving to include the legends of “Made in India”.
Another Chinese phone maker Oppo canceled the launch of its flagship 5G smartphone livestream in the country in June amid protests.
A Chinese citizen studying at the University of Delhi said that she and her family are feeling the stress, but many Indian friends and neighbors have reassured her not to be afraid.
Speaking on whether the ban will affect the bilateral relationship between the two countries, Professor Swaran Singh of Jawaharlal Nehru University and president of the Center for International Policy, Organization and Disarmament, said he does not believe it, as it is largely a symbolic gesture. .
There were massive domestic motives that led the Indian government to crack down on Chinese apps, he said. Gopal Krishna Agarwal, national spokesman for the Bharatiya Janata (economic affairs) party, said tensions in the border areas forced the Indian government to ban the apps, but that the decision would not affect bilateral trade.
However, bilateral trade will be reduced by $ 10 billion this year, expects Professor Singh. However, available data from the Directorate General for Trade Intelligence and Statistics shows that the ban has not affected bilateral trade so far.
According to the Indian embassy in Beijing, bilateral trade was $ 90 billion, in 2019 India’s trade deficit with China was $ 56.95 billion.
Tarun Pathak, associate director of Counterpoint Technology Market Research, said that after the unfortunate June 15 border incident in which soldiers were killed in fights, certain movements in India underscored its ambitions to become more national.
A well-known economist working in a government sector who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity stated that a possible technical war between the two most populous countries in the world would damage Chinese business interests and threaten tens of thousands of Indian jobs against the government. backdrop of a coronavirus-related delay.
Professor Sugata Marjit from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade said about the ban that it is a sign that India is a big market and that foreign policy has something going for it.
Still, the bilateral trade surplus in favor of China remains a constant concern, as Indian exports to China are barely recovering. Professor Marjit noted that China is India’s third largest trading partner with a huge trade surplus and “we also benefit greatly from Chinese products”, “but in monetary terms, China has much more to lose.”
The writer is a journalist from New Delhi.
Eric is a professional news editor, writer, and blogger for the last 10 years. He is working with NewsGater as an off-beat news editor cum writer.