Beijing/San Francisco: As the Washington-Beijing trade war intensifies along with fresh restrictions on Chinese telecom giant Huawei in the US, there has been a significant rise in “Boycott Apple” movement in China.
According to BuzzFeed News, there has been a flurry of anti-Apple and anti-Trump messages on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.
“I feel guilty watching the trade war. Once I have money I will change my smartphone (iPhone),” one user posted on Weibo.
“I think Huawei’s branding is amazing, it chops an apple into eight pieces,” read another post.
China has urged the US to stop “harassing overseas companies” and slammed US President Donald Trump’s decision to sign a national emergency order that prohibits American firms from using foreign-made equipment, citing espionage fears.
The US move, which effectively takes aim at Chinese telecom giant Huawei, comes as the two economic superpowers are locked in a bitter unending trade war. Chinese telecom giant Huawei has said that it is still open to addressing US security concerns.
“The functions in Huawei are comparable to Apple iPhones or even better. We have such a good smartphone alternative, why are we still using Apple?” said one user on Weibo.
This isn’t the first time that the “Boycott Apple” movement has gained traction in China. Chinese companies in December last year rallied behind the tech giant, offering hefty discounts to employees to buy Huawei devices and shun iPhones.
According to Nikkei Asian Review, the move came after the detention of Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada at the request of American prosecutors.
Over 20 Chinese companies also took to social media to announce that they will increase purchases of other Huawei products. A Chinese court in December banned the sale and import of most iPhone models after granting Qualcomm an injunction against Apple.
To avoid the ban, Apple released a small update to iOS, saying that iOS version 12.1.2 contains software changes exclusive to China.