National
February 19, 2022
India’s crackdown on Chinese firms and mobile apps is “becoming increasingly unhinged” and the action is nothing but “politically-motivated crackdowns on businesses from China” as stated by state-run Chinese paper Global Times.
The Indian government this week banned 54 Chinese mobile applications, which are posing threat to national security. The Income Tax department on Wednesday also carried out raids at multiple premises linked to Chinese tech conglomerate Huawei across the country in connection with alleged tax evasion.
The Global Times stated in an editorial that after failing to gain any advantage by stirring up tension at the border with China, which drew stern responses from Chinese soldiers, “New Delhi has shifted its out-of-control jingoism toward a more vulnerable target – Chinese businesses operating in India”.
Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies confirmed earlier media reports that Indian tax authorities raided multiple offices of the firm and questioned its local employees. In a statement, Huawei said that it was confident that its operations in the South Asian country “are firmly compliant with all laws and regulations” and that it would “fully cooperate” with Indian authorities.
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.
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.
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