New Delhi, Nov 26 (UNI) China has accused India of discriminatory practices after India banned 43 more mobile apps on national security grounds and asked New Delhi to avoid causing further damage to bilateral cooperation.
"For four times since June, India has imposed restrictions on smartphone apps with Chinese backgrounds under the pretext of national security. These moves in glaring violation of market principles and WTO rules severely harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a news briefing on Wednesday . adding, "China firmly rejects them. "
He said the Chinese government always asked Chinese companies to observe international rules and local laws and regulations when doing business overseas. The Indian government has the responsibility to follow market principles and protect the lawful rights and interests of international investors including Chinese companies.
"China-India economic and trade cooperation, by nature, is mutually beneficial. India should immediately correct its discriminatory approach and avoid causing further damage to bilateral cooperation," Zhao said.
The Chinese embassy in a separate statement said China is an opportunity and not a threat.
"China and India are the opportunities of development to each other rather than threats,” it said.
India has blocked at least 220 Chinese mobile apps, some of them made by China’s prominent tech companies like ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba.
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