China asks India ‘to improve business environment’ after apps ban, tax probes

Chinese commerce ministry statement follows ban on 54 apps and searches of premises of telecom firm Huawei

China’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday asked India “to improve its business environment” and to ensure “non-discriminatory” treatment of its firms, in the wake of a new ban on Chinese apps and recent tax probes on Chinese telecom and mobile firms. India, which has already banned more than 200 Chinese apps citing security concerns, this week announced a further ban of 54 apps. The past week also saw searches of several offices of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which followed similar tax investigations into Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi. On Thursday, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said “relevant Indian authorities have taken a series of measures to suppress Chinese companies and their products in India, which have seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies”. “China expressed serious concern about this,” he was quoted as saying at a press conference in Beijing by the official China News Service, adding that “the Ministry has noticed that foreign investors, including Chinese companies, are also increasingly concerned about the investment environment in India.” “Foreign investors have created a large number of employment opportunities in India and made positive contributions to India’s economic development,” he said, noting that “China and India are inseparable neighbours and important economic and trade partners for each other.” “The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has strong resilience and great potential,” he said, pointing out that bilateral trade reached a record $125.7 billion in 2021. “It is hoped,” he added, “that the Indian side can take concrete measures to maintain the sound development momentum of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and to benefit the two countries.”