A day after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that Chinese companies and investors will not be allowed in road construction projects in India, Beijing said that the setting-up of artificial roadblocks to bilateral cooperation would harm India’s interest and that the two countries should work together peace in their frontier regions, reported news agency Reuters.
According to the report, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian in a briefing said that Beijing will take all possible measures to uphold and protect the right of Chinese businesses in India.
The Trigger
The statement from Beijing comes amid heightened sanctions against Chinese businesses in India.
On 29 June, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok and Cam scanner, saying that these apps were engaged in activities "which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order".
According to Chinese state-run media Global Times, “the loss of Chinese internet company ByteDance – mother company of Tik Tok — could be as high as $6 billion.”
The Department of Telecom has also cancelled BSNL’s tender for rolling out of 4G services, reportedly to keep Chinese tech gear suppliers Huawei and ZTE at bay.
Union Minister Gadkari has said that Chinese companies and investors won’t be allowed in road and MSME projects.
How It Started
Tensions between India and China have been on the rise after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a face-off with Chinese forces in Leh’s Galwan Valley on the night of 15-16 June.
Despite talks of peace, there have been multiple reports of Chinese buildup along multiple points along the LAC in Ladakh. The Chinese have also inscribed a giant map of China and the name of the country in Mandarin between finger four and finger five, which fall on the disputed banks of the Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh.
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