According to the state-run Chinese paper Global Times, India’s crackdown on Chinese firms and mobile apps has become ‘unhinged’ and a political crackdown is being imposed on Chinese firms. This week, the Indian government banned 54 Chinese mobile applications that threatened national security. As part of the investigation into alleged tax evasion, the Income Tax department raided multiple sites linked to Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei on Wednesday.
After failing to gain any advantage by stirring up tension at the China border, which drew stern responses from Chinese soldiers, ‘New Delhi has now turned its out-of-control jingoism toward a more vulnerable target – Chinese businesses working in India’. Several Chinese mobile apps have been banned by Indian authorities in recent months. In addition, many Chinese companies have been raided in shady ‘tax investigations,’ the editorial said late on Thursday. Huawei Technologies confirmed earlier reports that Indian tax authorities raided multiple offices and questioned local employees.
Huawei said that its operations in India are ‘firmly compliant with all laws and regulations’ and will ‘fully cooperate’ with Indian authorities. The Huawei response is standard for any firm caught up in such circumstances; however, let me make it clear, the Indian authorities’ raid does not have anything to do with Huawei’s compliance issues, but rather with the increasing hostility of officials in New Delhi toward China,’ said the editorial.
Before Huawei, several Chinese companies, including smartphone maker Xiaomi, have already been targeted. In January, Xiaomi was ordered to pay 6.53 billion rupees ($87.8 million) for unpaid taxes alleged by the Indian authorities, claimed the editorial. Last month, multiple tax raids were carried out at the premises of Chinese smartphone makers in the country. The Finance Ministry issued a statement, saying that Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi’s local company in India had engaged in ‘tax evasion’ and demanded that it pay a total of Rs 6.53 billion ($88 million) in taxes owed between April 2017 and June 2020.
Xiaomi denied the claim, saying that the company adheres to legal and compliant operations around the world and abides by the relevant laws and regulations of each jurisdiction in which it operates. Chinese mobile phone brands are highly popular in the Indian market, and their market share far exceeds that of local Indian brands. According to the editorial, Chinese officials have expressed concern over Indian authorities’ actions against Chinese businesses and have repeatedly called on the Indian side to treat Chinese firms fairly.
Commenting on India’s latest raid of Huawei offices and bans on Chinese apps, a spokesperson for the Chinese Commerce Ministry on Thursday mounted a noticeably stronger response. He called the actions ‘a series of crackdown measures’ that have seriously harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms. ‘For that, China expresses serious concern,’ the spokesperson said.
‘However, though New Delhi appears to be constantly testing China’s patience, Chinese officials have and will likely continue to avoid being dragged into tit-for-tat measures with India,’ read the editorial.
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