China's Huawei Pledges Full Cooperation After India's Tax Inspectors' Visits, Reports Suggest

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Chinese telecommunications titan Huawei said it is ready for full-scale cooperation with India, following searches in several Huawei branch offices in India, media reported on Thursday.

The company said that it is aware of the visit of the tax authorities and meeting with several Huawei employees, the Global Times reported, citing the company's statement. Huawei also said that it will contact the relevant government agencies for more information, as well as cooperate according to the established rules, expressing confidence in the fact that its operation in India fully complies with all legislative and regulatory acts.

The searches in Huawei's branch offices in India took place on 15 February, following the ban of 54 mobile applications developed in China as they allegedly posed threat to India's national security and users' privacy. According to the Indian authorities, the banned apps are copies of the previously prohibited ones.

Since June 2020, India banned a total of 224 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeChat, UC Browser, and others. The decision concerning the ban was made amid the flare-up in tensions between the two countries in the Ladakh border area, with both Beijing and New Delhi increasing their military presence at the site.