BEIJING: China on Tuesday issued a statement against India’s blocking its 59 online applications in response to China’s killing its 20 soldiers in Ladakh.

China said it was strongly concerned over Indian decision to block of apps with Chinese links and called upon Indian government to uphold the legitimate and legal rights of the international investors including the Chinese ones.

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“We are checking on and verifying the situation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing while reacting to banning of 59 apps with Chinese links, including the hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser by the Indian government in wake of recent border standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan valley.

The spokesperson stressed that Chinese government always asked Chinese businesses to abide by the international rules and local laws and regulations in their business cooperation with foreign countries.

The Indian government has the responsibility to uphold the legitimate and legal rights of the international investors including Chinese ones, he added.

He said the practical cooperation between China and India was actually mutually beneficial and win-win. He said such pattern had been artificially undermined. It was not in interest of the Indian side, he added.

The list of apps that have been blocked by India Information Technology Ministry also include Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call – Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.

The Indian government claimed that it had taken action to ban several dozen Chinese apps in the country citing national security reasons.