India has banned 118 more Chinese apps on Wednesday, prompting an increase in U.S. tech giants’ opportunities, including Facebook and Google, as tensions continue to rise between India and China. The news comes just months after the fifth most massive economic power in the world has moved to block 59 apps in June due to security issues.
India’s Ministry of Information Technology has earlier commented that the movement to block these apps controlled or run by Chinese companies is given their activities that prejudice Indian sovereignty, integrity, defense, the security of the state, and public order. It is said that the companies running these apps, like the leading Chinese tech giant ByteDance who owns Tiktok, have close ties to the CCP. CCP is the ruling party of the communist state, whose leaders from all over the world have been accused of data privacy issues over the last couple of years.
India-China relations have been tense after the border clash in June that has left twenty Indian soldiers dead. It has been termed a ‘turning point’ for the two countries’ bilateral relationship and has caused an increase in anti-China sentiment in the South Asian country. Although disengagement between the two superpowers would not be immediate, these movements have cast a long shadow between their diplomatic relationship. Calls for increased balancing in economic ties and preservation of national interest has been rampant in India as people protest through boycotting Chinese products, cutting short its heavy reliance on the communist state.
These events prompt increased opportunities for U.S. companies to invest and expand their India market, which has long been a target as a future growth driver. Many investors have tried cracking down in the past, with varying levels of success. Banning the apps means that a considerable gap needs to be filled in the industry, and established U.S. players and those from elsewhere will be the ones to benefit.
Indian and American interests seem to be converging as Prime Minister Modi pushes for the former’s self-reliance on their defense down to e-commerce. India has established its software industry but lacks hardware. In this case, it could be sourced from the U.S., who is currently looking for new bases and consumers to bring their products. Apple, Facebook, and Google, the leading U.S. tech companies, all have shared interest in expanding both consumer markets and manufacturing locations in the area.
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