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After India bans China’s TikTok, border row ‘could weaponise phones and pharma’
- Trade between the neighbours was already declining before recent border clashes
- Chinese presence in Indian supply chains could be targeted by tariffs and other measures
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Mobile phones and pharmaceutical products may be the target of future trade actions by India and China as their border row grinds on, analysts say, widening an economic rift that has been growing for years.
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India has stepped up its action against Chinese trade and investment since deadly clashes left 20 Indian soldiers dead last month.
On Tuesday, India banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok and WeChat. Then on Wednesday, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises would no longer be able to take part in highway construction projects.
But trade ties between India and China had suffered long before the border clash in Galwan Valley and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on supply chains.
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India bans dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok and WeChat, after deadly border clash
India bans dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok and WeChat, after deadly border clash
Trade between the two countries is lopsided in China’s favour: India ran a record US$58 billion trade deficit with China in 2018.
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