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Deadly border clash prompts renewed calls in India to boycott Chinese tech

  • On TikTok, there has been a surge in popularity for videos with the hashtags #BoycottChineseProducts, #IndiaChinaborder and #Chinaborder
  • Local reports said about 52 mobile apps linked to China have been red-flagged by Indian intelligence authorities

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Calls to boycott Chinese tech goods in India grew louder this week, following a deadly border clash. Photo: EPA-EFE
Yujie XueandCoco Feng
China’s technology companies must brace for the economic fallout from the deadly border clash with India earlier this week, analysts said, amid renewed calls for people in the South Asian country to boycott a range of popular Chinese-made goods from apps to smartphones.

Fresh online protests calling for such a boycott have sprang up in various social media platforms in India, after the Indian Army confirmed that 20 of its soldiers were killed in a skirmish with Chinese troops along the two nations’ disputed border late on Monday.

“The strong anti-China sentiment [in India] right now is definitely a red flag for Chinese tech companies,” said Lin Minwang, director of the Centre for South Asia Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

On TikTok, there has been a surge in popularity for videos with the hashtags #BoycottChineseProducts, #IndiaChinaborder and #Chinaborder, which have recorded views of 7.3 million, 10.5 million and 11.5 million, respectively. The ByteDance-owned video-sharing app – itself a potential target in the boycott – is the most popular entertainment app in India, according to market tracker App Annie.

On Thursday, the hashtag #HindiCheeniByeBye was ranked among the top five most popular Twitter trends India, where it was mentioned in more than 116,000 posts.

02:13

India and China attempt to de-escalate border tension after deaths

India and China attempt to de-escalate border tension after deaths

Local reports also said about 52 mobile apps linked to China have been red-flagged by Indian intelligence authorities, following the deadly incident along the undemarcated border known as the Line of Actual Control.

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