China to provide help to Vivo employees arrested by India

New Delhi: After the Enforcement Directorate arrested two more senior executives of Vivo India, Beijing has asked New Delhi to provide a level-playing field for China’s companies to continue doing business in India.

Beijing’s mission in New Delhi is providing consular assistance to China’s citizens arrested in India for being allegedly involved with money laundering.

"We urge the Indian side to fully understand the mutually beneficial nature of China-India economic and trade cooperation and provide a fair, just, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest and operate in India,” Mao Ning, a spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in Beijing on Monday.

She was replying to a question from a journalist on the arrest of the Vivo India CEO, Hong Xuquan alias Terry, a citizen of China.

The ED arrested Hong along with Vivo India’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Harinder Dahiya and consultant Hemant Munjal last week under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

They were presented before a court and were sent to ED custody for three days.

Vivo India is a subsidiary of smartphone maker Vivo Communication Technology Company Limited based in China. The ED and other agencies have been probing the company’s operations in India since last year.

The ED had earlier arrested another citizen of from China, Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, along with three others – mobile company Lava International's MD Hari Om Rai and chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik – in connection with the case.

“We are paying close attention to the situation. The Chinese government firmly supports Chinese companies in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests,” Mao said in Beijing on Monday. “The Chinese embassy and consulates in India will continue to provide consular protection and assistance to the Chinese citizens involved in accordance with the laws.”

In the recent past, there have also been raids by tax authorities on the premises of Chinese smartphone makers operating in India.