India has banned 59 Chinese apps, including popular ones like TikTok, Helo, and Wechat, as they are a threat to the national security. The ban was implemented by Ministry of Electronics and IT on recommendation of Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The compilation of the data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures,” said Ministry of Home Affairs.
“There have been raging concerns on aspects relating to data security and safeguarding the privacy of 130 crore Indians. It has been noted recently that such concerns also pose a threat to sovereignty and security of our country,” it added.
Chinese apps banned by India had been developed by Chinese technology giants such as Tencent (WeChat), Alibaba (UC Browser), Xiaomi (Mi Community), and Bytedance (TikTok).
Most of these companies are directly or indirectly related to the Chinese Communist Party, as every company management has Communist party members in the board. Huawei’s chief is People’s Liberation Army veteran and an influential party member; Tencent chief of delegate at 12th party Congress, and Alibaba founder Jack Ma has also been very active in supporting the party. Many companies such as Tencent and Tiktok’s founders had been delegates at the previous party Congress and have been actively involved in policymaking.
And what is more interesting is- party members at the board of these companies belong to Shanghai faction of CCP, which is already hostile to Jinping led Beijing faction.
The Chinese companies are losing business across the world due to Xi Jinping’s expansionist agenda. Many companies such as Huawei, ZTE, are at the brink of collapse with the ban in countries around the world. The United States, the largest market of Chinese companies, already has a very hostile government. President Trump has made it impossible for the Chinese companies to do business in the US, and forcing the governments of the other countries to do the same.
As per a book by America’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Xi Jinping made personal appeal to Donald Trump to allow Huawei and ZTE to do business in United States. Jinping suggested that he would ‘owe Trump a favor’ if sanctions on these companies is eased.
“[Trump] said he had told [US Commerce Secretary Wilbur] Ross to work something out for China,” Bolton wrote. “Xi replied that if that were done, he would owe Trump a favour and Trump immediately responded he was doing this because of Xi.”
As the Chinese companies lose business around the world, Jinping’s hold on the chair of country’s paramount leader is weakening. Chinese Communist Party has many factions and Jinping has unquestionable support of only Beijing faction- all the other factions has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction over Xi’s leadership.
As Chinese business get hurt, the Shanghai faction which unabashedly pro-business and puts commercial interest above everything else will catch the neck of Xi Jinping. They are already unhappy over the fact that Chinese companies have lost business worth billions of dollars due to Xi Jinping’s unnecessary expansionist agenda, and as they lose largest market in terms of user base- and potentially largest in terms of revenue, too- every effort would be made to remove the authoritarian dictator from throne.
Jinping was asking for personal favour with Trump with the easing of restrictions on Huawei and ZTE because he wanted to calm the Shanghai faction. But, in the last few months, the market situation for the companies has worsened rather than improving.
With the Chinese companies losing India, the largest potential market, Xi Jinping’s hold over the throne will only get weakened. And, in the next few days, the attempt to remove Jinping from the position of the paramount leader of the country will be accelerated. Therefore, the mistake at Line of Actual Control, will cost Xi Jinping personally, and it is possible that he dials up PM Modi for personal favour, just like he asked Trump.