Beijing: Chinese consumers could boycott Apple if the United States bans WeChat, China's foreign ministry spokesman warned Friday, as the clock ticks down on a US order to block the popular social app.
US President Donald Trump this month announced a ban from mid-September on WeChat and another Chinese-owned app, TikTok, accusing them of threatening national security, further stoking tensions between Beijing and Washington.
But foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted Friday that 'If WeChat is banned, then there will be no reason why Chinese shall keep iPhone and apple products'.
Zhao had already on Thursday said 'many Chinese people are saying they may stop using iPhones if WeChat is banned in the US', and accused the US of 'systematic economic bullying of non-US companies' by targeting the Chinese app.
Beijing: Chinese consumers could boycott Apple if the United States bans WeChat, China's foreign ministry spokesman warned Friday, as the clock ticks down on a US order to block the popular. A US ban of popular Chinese messaging app WeChat may have devastating consequences for Apple, plunging the iPhone maker's sales in one of its most lucrative markets and worldwide shipments. Executive orders signed by US President Donald Trump last week target two popular services, TikTok and WeChat, accusing their Chinese owners of stealing.
The comments mark a rare direct reference by Beijing to boycotting an American product and come as the superpowers spar on multiple fronts including military activity in the South China Sea, Hong Kong and blame for the coronavirus.
Chinese social media users on Friday responded with mixed feelings to Zhao's warning on Twitter, which is blocked in China but accessible through virtual private network software.
'I use Apple, but I also love my country,' one user on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. Everest cpu monitor. 'It's not a conflict.'
'No matter how good Apple is, it's just a phone. It can be replaced, but WeChat is different,' another user argued. 'Modern Chinese people will lose their soul if they leave WeChat, especially business people.'
Wechat, known in mainland China as Weixin, has more than 1.2 billion active users.
Trump's executive order against WeChat forces the platform to end all operations in the United States and bans Americans doing business with it.
Wechat Applet
Apple accounted for eight percent of China's smartphone market in the second quarter of 2020, according to Counterpoint Research, far behind domestic leader Huawei.
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..A huge Chinese survey with more than 1.2 million responses shows that 95% of Chinese iPhone owners would switch from Apple to another smartphone brand, rather than give up WeChat. The survey follows an executive order by Donald Trump banning US companies from transactions with WeChat owner Tencent.
iPhones without WeChat in China would be turned into 'expensive electronic trash'…
Bloomberg reports:
iPhone loyalists across China are now reconsidering their attachment to the device after Donald Trump issued an executive order last week barring US companies from doing business with WeChat […]
iPhones without WeChat in China would be turned into 'expensive electronic trash'…
Bloomberg reports:
iPhone loyalists across China are now reconsidering their attachment to the device after Donald Trump issued an executive order last week barring US companies from doing business with WeChat […]
A survey on the twitter-like Weibo service asking consumers to choose between WeChat and their iPhones has drawn more than 1.2 million responses so far, with roughly 95% of participants saying they would rather give up their devices. ‘The ban will force a lot of Chinese users to switch from Apple to other brands because WeChat is really important for us,' said Sky Ding, who works in fintech in Hong Kong and originally hails from Xi'an […]
The ban threatens to turn iPhones into expensive ‘electronic trash,' said Hong Kong resident Kenny Ou, who sees WeChat as one of the most essential software on his handset.
WeChat has more than a billion users, and is the single most important app in China. Without it, iPhones would be useless to the overwhelming majority of Chinese residents.
WeChat isn't just a messaging service: It's basically a whole operating system […] The average Chinese person picks up their phone and immediately opens WeChat. Movistar tv streaming free. Pretty much everything else they do happens within this single app.
The scope of Trump's order is currently unclear. Of crucial import is whether the order applies only in the US, or to the business dealings of US companies worldwide. If the latter applies, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimated that it could cost the iPhone maker up to 30% of its global sales as Chinese iPhone owners would simply not buy future models.
Apple itself has warned the White House of the massive risk to its business.
Apple is one of more than a dozen US companies who this week warned the Trump administration about the implications of banning WeChat from their platforms. The warning was given during a conference call on Tuesday.
Wechat And Apple Computer
Disney, Ford, Intel, Morgan Stanley, UPS, and Walmart were also among those to inform the White House that the consequences for US companies could be ‘severe.'
Wechat Apple Watch Unable To Send
Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Wechat And Apple Music
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