E-Paper
Beijing reacts to India’s move to ban Chinese smartphones below ₹12,000
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the government has taken note of India's move.
The Chinese government has reacted to India’s plans to ban smartphone makers from the country from selling devices cheaper than ₹12,000, dealing a blow to brands, including Xiaomi Corp. India's move is aimed at pushing Chinese companies out of the lower segment of the market.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the government has taken note of India's move.
“I want to stress that the trade and economic cooperation between China and India is mutually beneficial in nature. We urge the Indian side to earnestly fulfil its commitment of openness and cooperation, and provide an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory investment and business environment for Chinese companies,” Wenbin told reporters.
According to a Bloomberg report, the foreign ministry spokesperson also said that Beijing will “firmly support” Chinese companies in defending their lawful interests and rights.
Citing market tracker Counterpoint, Bloomberg had earlier reported that smartphones under ₹12,000 contributed to a third of India’s sales volume for the quarter through June 2022, with Chinese companies accounting for up to 80 per cent of those shipments.
Three Chinese mobile companies operating in India – Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo – are already under the Narendra Modi government's scanner in cases of tax evasion.
Last week, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detected a customs duty evasion of around ₹2,217 crore from Vivo Mobile India Pvt. Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Vivo Communication Technology Co. Ltd.
Previously, the government had banned over 300 Chinese apps, including Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok, due to the strained relations between India and China following the border skirmishes since 2020.
(With Bloomberg inputs)
