June 30, 2020 (New Delhi)  A day after the government banned 59 mostly Chinese apps, China said on Tuesday that it was concerned about the recent development.

“China is strongly concerned,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was quoted by ANI as saying. He also told reporters during a daily briefing that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses.

Besides Bytedance’s wildly popular video-sharing app TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat, the apps blocked by the government last evening include Alibaba’s UC Browser and two of Xiaomi’s apps.

The apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order,” said the ministry of Information Technology. Google and Apple have removed these apps from the play store and app store.

Meanwhile, TikTok said it was in the process of complying with the government order and “continued to comply with data privacy and security requirements under Indian law”. The company has been invited to offer clarifications before a government panel, which will decide whether an interim ban to be lifted or extended further.

Anti-China sentiment has been simmering in India since the June 15 clash in Ladakh in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty.