China India Photo:VCG

China has urged India to reconsider its ban on Chinese apps amid a new round of cyber sanctions against China.

The ban shows that India is making every effort to worsen China-India relations by creating economic and trade friction, even though the border situation between China and India has eased, experts said.

China firmly opposes India's decision to ban 43 more Chinese apps, which is a violation of market principles and WTO rules. India should correct this discriminatory practice, said Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, on Wednesday.

The government of India on Tuesday blocked 43 Chinese mobile apps in the country, citing so-called "cybersecurity concerns." 

The list of apps that have been blocked include Chinese shopping website AliExpress. Previously, India had also banned more than 170 Chinese apps including TikTok, Bigo Live and PUBG Mobile.

The ban has relatively little impact on Chinese internet companies as their business scale in the country is small due to India's preexisting restrictions in the sector, Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The ban is more of a retaliation for India to vent their dissatisfaction at China's move to construct military facilities within China's own borders, though the two countries have reached a positive consensus on easing the border situation," Zhao Gancheng said.

A member of staff at AliExpress told the Global Times that the ban will have little impact on their business.

"India is not our major market. Our business is in countries around the world so the ban from India is not a big loss for us," the staff member said.

India is mired in international and domestic difficulties, which makes its next move against China hard to predict, Zhao Gancheng said.

"The political changes in the US, the missed opportunity with the RCEP and the explosive epidemic situation has made India into an international outcast. Its moves toward China are irrational and unpredictable," Zhao Gancheng said.

For the next step, India could expel Chinese enterprises that have invested in India, but the move would lead to legal action, he added.