TikTok, WeChat and other Chinese tech firms should claim compensation from India after app ban, says Global Times

Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said Chinese technology companies banned in India should sue for compensation, reflecting rising frustration in Beijing

India made its ban of 59 Chinese apps by such tech giants as ByteDance and Tencent permanent this week after companies failed to convince courts to overturn it

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Chinese video-sharing app TikTok is seen on a smartphone. After India made its ban on 59 Chinese apps permanent this week, Global Times chief editor Hu Xijin called on tech companies to sue the Indian government for compensation. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:00pm, 27 Jan 2021Updated: 4:27am, 28 Jan 2021

The Global Times, a state-owned newspaper under Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, called on Chinese tech firms to sue for compensation from the Indian government in an editorial on Tuesday after New Delhi made its ban on dozens of Chinese apps permanent amid growing frustration in Beijing over India’s targeting of Chinese businesses.

Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the nationalist tabloid, also published the editorial on his WeChat account on Tuesday, arguing that Chinese companies must “defend their rights by using laws as weapons and seek compensation from the Indian government”.

While the often bellicose commentary that appears in the Global Times does not represent official government views, the piece reflects Beijing’s increasing discomfort with the situation in India, which started targeting Chinese apps and businesses after a deadly border clash last year.

The Chinese embassy in New Delhi said in a statement that China urges India to “immediately correct discriminatory conduct to avoid creating greater losses for both sides”. China’s foreign ministry said earlier that Beijing opposes New Delhi’s decision to ban Chinese apps, but the Chinese government has not taken any retaliatory measures.

Hu Xijin, chief editor of Global Times, is known for his often bellicose commentary in the state-owned tabloid. Photo: Simon Song

No Chinese companies have indicated whether they would follow the newspaper’s call to sue the Indian government. This includes silence from ByteDance, whose short video app TikTok was widely popular in India before the ban.