Things have been heating up for Huawei recently – the FBI had warned Americans not to buy Huawei smartphones as far as way back in February, while August found President Trump signing a bill that banned government agencies from using the equipment supplied by Huawei and ZTE.
The american government has expressed concern over the fact that both companies might have installed spying devices into their products.
These tensions eventually culminated with the arrest of the company’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou on suspicion of breaching US sanctions on Iran.
Shortly after, a report from the Global Times – a state-backed Chinese newspaper – stated that banning Chinese companies of the likes of Huawei will “isolate U.S from [the] digital economy of the future”.
“China can restrict US companies from entering the Chinese market by overhauling its standards for market access, acquisition rules and telecom protocols if the country wants. ” the Global Times states.
It goes on to say that “Washington’s move to restrict Chinese investment in 5G services will only backfire and hurt US companies and consumers. Without sufficient competition, US domestic enterprises are not likely to provide cost-effective services for American consumers.”
Needless to say, Apple is one of the targets everyone turned to – the company has sold around 70 million iPhones just in China alone. There’s voices suggesting that the injunction request that Qualcomm won against Apple in China might have something to do with it. While the injunction might not impact Apple a lot, since it deals with some older iOS versions, the Chinese authorities are rumored to have made the move as a warning.
But it does not end here: Chinese companies have made a new move against Apple just recently, as reported by the Nikkei Asian Review – they’ve offered workers subsidies on Huawei purchases in order to help the company. Most of them subsidize 10% to 20% of the purchase price while others are downright covering the full amount.
So far, more then 20 Chinese companies which range from information technology providers to food companies, took to social media to announce their decision. Government officials have stated that a few hundred businesses were conducting similar programs all over the nation.
At the same time, a number of other companies have taken to boycotting Apple, such as a machinery maker in Shenzhen, who threatened to confiscate the employees’ Apple devices and even fire those who did not comply to the demand.
Shenzhen’s Yidaheng Technology also said that it would fine the employees who bought iPhones with the exact amount the device was purchased with while other companies have been threatening to hold back bonuses.
Other companies have been more laid-back though – Shanghai’s Youluoke Electronic and Technology offers two free Huawei phones per employee while Fuchun Technology is paying its employees 500 yuan for providing them with a proof of purchase.
It’s not uncommon for Chinese consumers to boycott companies that have had bad relations with Beijing – South Korean Hyundai Motor and Lotte faced similar problems just last year, when Seoul deployed a U.S missile defense system.
How Apple will respond to all of this remains to be seen. At the time this article is being written, Apple has not yet released an official statement.
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