New Delhi: China is strongly concerned regarding the decision of the Indian government to ban 59 apps with Chinese links, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. “China is strongly concerned, verifying the situation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "We want to stress that Chinese governemnt always asks Chinese businesses to abide by international and local laws-regulations. Indian government has a responsibility to uphold the legal rights of international investors including Chinese ones," Zhao Lijian said.

The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country. The Google on Tuesday said it has removed all the banned applications from the Play Store. The ban on the Chinese apps came in the backdrop of current stand-off along the Line of Actual control in Ladakh with Chinese troops.

The list of apps that have been banned include Helo, Likee, CamScanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein. In a statement on Monday, the Information Technology Ministry said it had received many complaints, including reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users` data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India".

"The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures," the statement said.

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