Thread: India bans China imports

India bans China imports
P. Jayaram, India Correspondent
May 1, 2010

Move follows earlier bans on Chinese phones, plastic toys


An onion vendor talking on a mobile phone in a Delhi market. Last June, the Indian government banned mobile phones without an Imei number. Chinese manufacturers, who had flooded the Indian market with relatively cheap handsets, were hit hard.
PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW DELHI - INDIA has blocked the import of telecommunications equipment made by Chinese companies on security grounds, in a move that could hit the growth plans of major Chinese vendors in one of the fastest growing markets.

Official sources say there had already been an unwritten order for several months, but the Department of Telecom has now sent out a formal order banning the import of Chinese equipment.

They say the order went out earlier this week to some major operators that were on the verge of finalising deals with Chinese equipment manufacturers.

An Indian government official denied that there was any ban, but said that telecom operators had to get security clearances before buying equipment.
According to the sources, the order had come after India's Home Ministry raised concerns that telecom equipment from some countries, like China, could have embedded spyware, giving intelligence agencies access to telecom networks in India.

Coming on the back of earlier bans on Chinese mobile phones and plastic toys, the latest move could trigger a trade war between the two Asian giants at a time when bilateral trade is expected to cross US$100 billion (S$136 billion) this year.

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