China long ignored economic repercussion of standoff with India, now digital strike hurting it, says expert

China has long ignored the economic consequences of a standoff with India; however, New Delhi had the last laugh by launching a digital strike banning 59 Chinese apps.

American political scientist Edward Luttwak said that Chinese Communist Party leaders laughed off the threat of economic retaliation by India for the Ladakh attack. However, Tik Tok, the most profitable app banned by New Delhi, now estimates its losses at USD 6 billion.

"In Beijing, Xi Jinping's minions laughed off threats of economic retaliation for the Ladakh attack: "India is very poor, who cares?" Luttwak tweeted.

Yesterday, the owner of Tik Tok, the most profitable of the Chinese apps, now banned in India estimated the loss: US$6 billion, Luttwak further said in his tweet.

TikTok's mother company, China-based ByteDance, faces an estimated loss of USD 6 Billion following Indian government's decision to ban 59 Chinese apps including the wildly popular TikTok, Chinese state media Global Times reported citing sources.

"The loss of Chinese internet company Byte Dance mother company of Tik Tok could be as high as USD 6 billion after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, including Tik Tok following deadly border clash between India and Chinese troops last month," said sources.

A source close to ByteDance said that in the past few years, the company had invested more than USD 1 billion in the Indian market, and the ban could virtually halt its business there, causing a loss as high as USD 6 billion.

That figure would exceed the potential losses of all the other apps combined, The Global Times reported. TikTok is a short video-sharing platform under ByteDance, and Helo is a social media platform the company released for the Indian market. Another app called Vigo Video, which is also on the list, is also from the company.

According to data from Sensor Twoer, a mobile app analysis company, TikTok was downloaded 112 million times in May, with 20 percent of that total in the Indian market, double that of the US market.

The Indian government on Monday said that it has decided to block 59 apps in view of the information available that "they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order".

Information Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government has banned apps for safety, security, defence, sovereignty, and integrity of India.

The development comes in the wake of the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last month, which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. It was one of the most bloody confrontations between the border troops of two sides since the 1972 war.

China had expressed concerns over India's decision to ban 59 apps developed by Chinese firms and stressed that New Delhi has a responsibility to uphold the legal rights of international investors including the Chinese.

-ANI

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