Garena Free Fire, Chinese apps ban affects interests of Chinese companies, says Beijing

New Delhi: The Indian government recently banned Garena Free Fire and 53 other apps linked to China, in a fresh crackdown on Chinese companies. With the latest crackdown, the government has so far banned more than 220 mobile applications with links to China. 

In response to the latest efforts of the Indian government, Beijing has expressed its concerns, saying it affected the interests of the Chinese companies, according to a report by Sputnik.

During a press briefing on Thursday, February 17, the Chinese Commerce Ministry’s spokesperson Gao Feng said that the ban damages the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. 

"For a certain period of time, the relevant Indian departments have been taking several measures to put pressure on Chinese enterprises and related services in the country, which has seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, with China expressing serious concern in this regard," said Gao.

He expressed hope that India would be able to take appropriate measures to maintain the positive dynamics of economic cooperation between the two countries, noting that bilateral trade increased by 43 per cent in 2021 in per year terms, reaching USD 125.7 billion, according to Sputnik.

According to a media report, the Indian government banned 54 more Chinese apps as they posed a "threat" to India’s security. "Government of India to ban 54 Chinese apps that pose a threat to India`s security," sources closed to a matter were quoted in a report by ANI. Also Read: Nepal to become first country to deploy India's UPI digital payments platform

So far, the Indian government has banned several Chinese apps, including PUBG Mobile India, TikTok, WeChat, and Helo, among others. The decision was taken keeping in view the threat to the nation’s sovereignty and security. Also Read: Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal takes parental leave; interim chief to be announced