After a last summer’s shock when it banned TikTok, the app which had the second highest number of users in India, after China, this country now banned dozens of other Chinese apps. The move provoked Beijing to react and additionally worsened the already tense relations between the two countries.

– China firmly opposes the Indian side’s repeated use of ‘national security’ as an excuse to prohibit mobile Apps with Chinese background – said Ji Rong, spokesperson of the Embassy of China to India.

The statement followed after the Indian government announced it would ban another 43 apps, many of them being Chinese, the CNN reports. The list comprises several apps of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, including the shopping platform AliExpress, the tool for exchanging messages at work DingTalk and the streaming web location Taobao Live. The ban also affects meeting apps.

A press release issued by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology underlines that ‘This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order’.

In its reply, the Chinese Embassy said that Beijing has always requested Chinese companies operating abroad to adhere to the international rules and comply with the local legislation.

Indian officials have so far banned more than 200, mostly Chinese, apps – including the popular video platform TikTok – in the last five months.