China cautions artificial blocks will harm bilateral cooperation

NEW DELHI: China said on Friday that “artificial blocks” to bilateral cooperation would harm India’s interests and that the two countries should work together to uphold peace in their border region. Beijing will take necessary measures to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses in India, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing told a news briefing.

Beijing will take necessary measures to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses in India, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a news briefing, in response to a question about India’s additional scrutiny of imports from China due to recent border dispute.

Asked if India’s economic measures are justified, Zhao said China hopes both countries could meet each other half-way and try to resolve the tension through diplomatic and military negotiations and ensure the peace and stability in the region.

His comments came after India banned 59 apps including TikTok citing a threat a national security and as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Ladkah where, last month, 20 Indian soldiers died in a faceoff with China. Beijing has not confirmed its number of casualties in the clash, which marked the first time in 45 years that soldiers had died in combat on the border.

China has warned that India’s ban on China-linked apps amounts to a violation of WTO rules. Chinese tech giant unicorn ByteDance Ltd. is anticipating a loss of over USD 6 billion after three of its apps, including the hugely popular video app TikTok, were banned by India this week, a media report here.