India’s anti-China drive

by Abbas Adil

India has seized $725 million from the local bank accounts of a Chinese Cell Phone giant Xiaomi after a probe found that the Chinese smartphone giant unlawfully sent money abroad in the guise of royalty payments in other countries. According to details, India’s financial crime investigation agency began investigations against the company in February and it seized the money from the firm’s local branch office after the revelation that the company had made remittances to three foreign-based entities. The authorities claimed that huge amounts in the name of royalties were remitted by the local office of Xiaomi on the instructions of their Chinese parent group in Beijing.

The Indo-China bilateral relations deteriorated significantly after India tightened its knot with Washington in the previous decade, while the deadly Himalayan border standoff between soldiers from both countries in 2020 had pushed both nations further apart from each other. Apparently, India joined the anti-China drive of its Western allies, and Indian law enforcement agencies conducted raids and searched offices of Chinese technological giants Huawei, and Xiaomi in India. Earlier, Indian authorities initiated an investigation against Xiaomi over the charges of income tax evasion, which significantly damaged the reputation and business of the Chinese firm in India.

In the aftermath of the India-China border tension as well as in pursuance of the western anti-China drive, India’s home ministry banned hundreds of mobile applications of Chinese origin, including the popular social media platforms Tiktok, we chat, and others. Modi’s government justified the bans on the apps as safeguards against threats to India’s sovereignty. Besides these government-sponsored anti-China measures, there had been a campaign for a public boycott of Chinese products in the country in recent months. According to reports, China is an important economic partner for India, and their bilateral trade stood at $125 billion during the last year.

In fact, India has countless prospects for bilateral cooperation with China in all domains ranging from the resolution of border disputes to trade and investment as well as bilateral cooperation in science and technology, only if India renounces its hegemonic plans and resorts to peaceful coexistence with its neighbors in the region.

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