Dikhyaa Mohanty 
According to China’s state-run media Global Times, the ongoing crackdowns on Chinese businesses, such as smartphone manufacturer Vivo, support the idea that India is turning into a “graveyard for foreign companies.” Three high-ranking Vivo employees in India have been taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. These individuals include the interim CEO, CFO, and consultant. The arrests occurred two months after an employee of Vivo and three other people were taken into custody by the ED on suspicion of money laundering—a charge that Vivo has refuted.
Qian Feng, head of research at Tsinghua University’s National Strategy Institute, told the Global Times that “the unfair and discriminatory treatment of Chinese companies operating in India reflects that the Indian side keeps politicizing economic issues.”
The paper claims that India’s relentless crackdowns on Chinese businesses will only serve to erode bilateral trade and economic cooperation. According to Lou Chunhao, Executive Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, “India aims to kick down the ladder by sanctioning Chinese companies.” The three Vivo India top executives who were detained were placed in ED custody for three days by a Delhi court.
