After Chinese short-video platform TikTok was banned by New Delhi for six months under the pretense of national security, it seems India, which would hope such actions would boost its domestic industry, has encountered lapses while Western capital has taken the advantage by grabbing market shares there.
With the Chinese short-video platform TikTok being forbidden to public use, Indian market has seen emerging “alternative app” launches by Western tech giants or home-grown apps backed by Western capital, and they are battling for the market share in India.
According to Indian news outlet The Print, Google and Microsoft joined an investment round of more than $100 million in VerSe Innovation Pvt, maker of India’s short-video app, Josh. Besides the home-grown app, US-based social media giants Instagram and YouTube have also entered Indian market.
Following in the footsteps of the Trump administration, New Delhi has used the “national security” pretense to justify their anti-China measures, including discriminative policies that antagonize and harm Chinese businesses, from 5G developer Huawei and ZTE to social media platform TikTok and WeChat.
In recent months, New Delhi has been taking a particularly unfriendly attitude toward Chinese investments. With TikTok rapidly expanding across the global market, the populous Indian market had become one of the major contributors to user numbers of the app, which however raised the eyebrows of Modi administration. Later, it used national security threat as a fig leaf to cover for its outright protectionist move.
However, blocking Chinese players clearly can’t help India realize its dream of realizing industrial independence due to the country’s shortfall in capital, technology and experience.
After TikTok was blocked, the development of India’s domestic industry remains in tatters despite the emergence of several alternatives. Only about 40 percent of TikTok’s previous market share in India has been taken by the new Indian apps, according to industrial report conducted by Redseer.
While due to the shutdown of TikTok, Indian users’ time spending on short video apps slumped sharply to about half as much time as they used to, although there are alternatives from both home and foreign providers, according to media reports.
Despite India’s potential huge market place, it is crucial technology innovations that matters to an economy’s rise, such as WeChat and TikTok that have accumulated tens of millions of users around the world, building a truly global ecosystem.
Chinese investment laden with core technology innovations has been facilitating the development of Indian industries for many years.
As 2020 rapidly winds down with global economy heavily battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, India has also marked a year with a few reckless confrontations with China, from border clash to economic rivalry. However, blocking Chinese investors won’t help the emerging South Asian market fulfill its ambitious industrial independence goal. Lest the short-sighted politicians in New Delhi cannot redress their hostile attitude toward foreign investments, the nation seems far away from a desired rejuvenation.
The article was compiled based on an interview with Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn
Illustration: Tang Tengfei/GT
