Raids by India's anti-money laundering agency and income tax officials on Chinese companies are becoming more common and systemic. By using the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which allows criminal cases to be filed for what previously were general foreign exchange violations, generally considered civil offenses, the Indian authorities are making it obvious that they are targeting Chinese companies.

It was under the PML Act that India's anti-money laundering agency arrested a Chinese employee of smartphone maker Vivo from his office near New Delhi on Tuesday, according to Reuters. That the Indian officials didn't bother to provide any evidence to prove their charge makes the arrest even more intriguing.

The anti-money laundering agency, called Enforcement Directorate, raided Vivo's office in Greater Noida in the central province of Uttar Pradesh, accusing it of illegally remitting funds from India to China. The Enforcement Directorate has also accused Vivo of evading customs duty.

The second-biggest smartphone brand in India, after Samsung, Vivo is owned by China's BBK Electronics, headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong province, which also manufactures brands such as Oppo and Realme in India.

In the past 18 months, the Indian authorities have targeted other Chinese mobile phone companies too. They froze Xiaomi's assets worth $676 million in April last year, again without presenting any substantial evidence to back their charges.

On Sept 28 this year, income tax officials raided ("visited" according to some media outlets) and searched the offices of laptop-maker Lenovo in Mumbai, Bengaluru and two other cities, and launched an investigation into the Chinese company.

These crackdowns on Chinese tech companies, ostensibly to promote Indian smartphones, as well as banning Chinese apps, including TikTok, started after the border skirmish between India and China in 2020. Not to mention New Delhi denied visa to Chinese correspondents, almost all of whom had to leave India.

That India under the Narendra Modi government has taken a de facto pro-United States stance hasn't made matters any better for dissenting voices in India or countries the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party doesn't like. India has also joined the Quad — which comprises the US, Japan and Australia and whose aim is to contain China.

In contrast, China has exercised exemplary restraint despite India targeting Chinese companies and individuals. Beijing still welcomes Indian companies, and investments from Indian investors, and it remains committed to resolving border disputes with India through peaceful talks.

New Delhi should know that the border disputes, a colonial legacy, should never be allowed to sway overall Sino-Indian relations by hijacking the otherwise smooth win-win economic and trade cooperation.