China reacts to India's latest app ban: 'Damages rights, interests of our firms'

Days after the Indian government banned over 50 Chinese apps, Beijing reacted to the development.

A spokesperson for the Chinese commerce ministry reportedly said that the ban damages "legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies". Gao Feng was quoted as saying that Delhi bhas been taking "several measures to put pressure on Chinese enterprises and related services" in India.

The Chinese official added that Beijing hopes that Delhi will take "concrete measures to maintain the sound development momentum of bilateral economic and trade cooperation", as per reports.

ALSO WATCH | India bans 54 Chinese apps citing security threats: Garena Free Fire and more banned

On February 14, the Government of India reportedly announced a ban on 54 Chinese apps which threaten national security. The apps were accused of obtaining "various critical permissions" and collecting "sensitive user data". This data was being misused and transmitted to servers located in "hostile country", the Indian government reportedly said.

The apps in the latest ban list included Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera - Selfie Camera, Garena Free Fire - Illuminate, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock and Dual Space Lite.

India has reportedly blocked over 300 Chinese apps since aggression by Chinese forces along the disputed border in Ladakh led to a face-off which is still persisting.