A rising variety of former Apple devotees in China have began switching from iPhones to domestic Huawei smartphones as commerce and expertise tensions escalate between Washington and Beijing.
The South China Morning Post reported that buyers have been spurred by a rising “nationalist sentiment” to assist the Chinese tech big which has been blacklisted by the US.
According to the newspaper, “nationalist rhetoric of ‘switch to Huawei’ has gained increasing traction as trade tensions escalate.”
Social media campaigns have been urging residents to assist Huawei at Apple’s expense in response to US-China commerce disputes, it stated.
Some long-time Apple customers in China have began framing Huawei purchases as acts of patriotism.
“There is a calling from my heart that I need to show support for Chinese brands, especially in the trade war climate,” stated Wang Zhixin, a supervisor at considered one of China’s largest photo voltaic module producers. Earlier this month Wang retired his three-year-old iPhone 7 and obtained a Huawei P30.
He defined that Huawei was not totally chosen out of sympathy. “The company has a reputation for better quality at a cheaper price… [The P30] is faster and can take better pictures.”
Another former Apple fan, Sam Li, who works at a state-owned telecom firm in Beijing, stated that “It’s kind of embarrassing to pull an iPhone out of your pocket nowadays when all the company executives use Huawei.”