Banning Chinese apps

AFTER a one-year hiatus, India has resumed the crackdown on apps with Chinese links, citing a renewed threat to national security and fresh concerns over data privacy. Even as the Ladakh standoff is set to complete two years in a couple of months, India’s ill-concealed attempts to hurt Chinese economic interests seem feeble as well as futile. Despite all the diplomatic and military posturing, India remains heavily dependent on imports from China. India’s trade deficit with the neighbour rose to $69.4 billion in 2021, up from $45.9 billion in 2020 and $56.8 billion in 2019. The country’s bilateral trade with China grew by 44 per cent last year as imports shot up by a record 46 per cent and the exports increased by 35 per cent. These figures underscore the dominant position of China, currently India’s largest trading partner after the US.

It was in June 2020, soon after the Galwan valley clash, that New Delhi had started blocking and banning apps belonging to major Chinese tech companies. Beijing had reacted strongly, accusing India of repeatedly using ‘national security’ as a pretext to prohibit such mobile applications. China had hoped that India would provide ‘a fair, impartial and non-discriminatory business environment for all market players from various countries and rectify the discriminatory practices violating WTO rules.’ China’s top three trading partners are ASEAN, the European Union and the US, with India way behind. Still, Beijing is keen to maximise its gains in the huge market offered by the populous neighbouring nation.

China has largely succeeded in delinking the border dispute from trade ties. India’s argument that the two issues are inseparable is unfortunately divorced from our import-intensive sectors and geoeconomic realities. Pulling the plug on Chinese apps won’t slow down the Dragon’s march. Even as Atmanirbharta remains a bridge too far, New Delhi must explore viable, long-term options to reduce its overdependence on Beijing. At the same time, the Union government needs to enforce tighter regulations to deter China from treating India as a dumping ground for below-par goods.