The Chinese Embassy in India, on Tuesday, alleged that India's decision to ban 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeChat, Cam Scanner, and UC Browser, "abuses national security exceptions, and suspects of violating the WTO rules". It is also against the "general trend" of international trade and e-commerce activities, and is "not conducive to consumer interests and the market competition in India", the embassy said. "The Chinese side is seriously concerned with and firmly opposed to such action," it added. The embassy also said that the banned apps have a large user base in India, and operate "strictly" in accordance with Indian laws. "The ban will affect not only the employment of local Indian workers who support these apps, but also the interests of Indian users and the employment and livelihoods of many creators and entrepreneurs," it added. Will China have a strong case against India if it goes to the WTO? "China can allege that India has violated the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) agreement," said Sarvjeet Singh, director at the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi. The GATT agreement is a legal agreement between countries whose overall purpose is to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. "However, even assuming that India is in violation of the GATT agreement, it still has a strong enough case by virtue of the WTO rule exemptions based on security-grounds. If China were to approach WTO, India can easily invoke the…
