Amid a rising wave of nationalism, Chinese shoppers have mounted at least 78 boycotts of foreign companies since 2016, more than six times the number seen in the preceding eight years, a new study found.
While consumer brands all face the same complex operating environment in China, how they get out of hot water differs depending on the issue, research by the Swedish National China Centre found.
In general, companies quickly apologize when they are being boycotted for issues around territory China considers sovereign, but far less frequently when it comes to the topic of alleged human rights violations.
Photo: Reuters
More than 80 percent of companies apologized upon facing backlash for actions or advertising seen as infringing on China’s territorial integrity, such as the status of Taiwan or Tibet, or the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
By contrast, only about one-quarter of firms expressed regret after making a stance against sourcing products from Xinjiang — the province where China is accused of human rights violations against the ethnic Uighur group.
The varying degree of sensitivity at play is reflected in how the same company responded differently to boycott threats. Walmart Inc apologized in 2018 over a sign in one of its Chinese stores that listed Taiwan, and not China, as the origin of some products, but did not last year amid social media allegations that Xinjiang-sourced products were taken off shelves, the study said.
The findings underscore how China’s 1.4 billion shoppers have gone from an untapped goldmine to a potential minefield for global consumer brands. With Asia’s biggest economy facing off with the US and others on everything from trade to cybersecurity and human rights to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese shoppers have become an economically powerful arm of Beijing’s political agenda, hurting revenue growth for companies from Nike Inc to Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M).
“The emergence of alternative domestic products in China and a rise in online nationalism are putting a lot of pressure on global brands,” said Hillevi Parup, coauthor of the study in an e-mail interview.
“Consumer boycotts are on the rise in China and this trend does not appear to be going away anytime soon,” Parup asid.
Despite the hostile atmosphere, nearly half of the targeted companies weathered controversies without a public apology, the study said.
H&M — the biggest corporate target in the Xinjiang-related boycott wave last year — did not apologize, saying that it has always respected Chinese consumers and was devoted to its long-term growth in the country. The clothing brand is still not available on nearly all e-commerce platforms in China.
The study also found that the public reaction to company apologies “appears arbitrary.”
In some cases, an apology led to further backlash, with social media users calling out firms such as Hugo Boss AG for being “two-faced.”
“An apology isn’t a safe bet,” Parup said. “Based on our observations, the best option may be to try to avoid the public eye altogether.”
The varying apology rate could be due to intense scrutiny on Xinjiang’s forced labor issue in Europe and North America.
While firms might be able to stomach the reputational cost of being less supportive of Taiwan’s sovereign claim, for example, “it is much harder to imagine that they would be comfortable with accusations of being implicated in what some western parliaments and governments have labeled genocide,” the study said.
Intel Corp apologized in December last year after its opposition to Xinjiang labor sparked a backlash in China. Soon after, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that “American companies should never feel the need to apologize for standing up for fundamental human rights or opposing repression.”
The study also found that the economic payoff of toeing China’s line was unclear.
Hugo Boss and Burberry faced Chinese consumers’ ire for statements related to Xinjiang. Hugo Boss apologized and Burberry declined to comment, but neither saw a significant drop in sales, the study said.
The think tank examined boycott incidents between 2008 and last year. Besides the general intensification since 2016, researchers found that boycotts peaked in 2019, when the US-China trade dispute was playing out.
The targeted attacks by Chinese consumers in the past few years have also displayed evidence of state support, the study said.
State-run media, for example, supported a 2019 campaign against luxury brands, including Coach, Versace and Givenchy, for failing to respect China’s territorial integrity.
“We have found evidence of state support in nearly a third of all boycotts, but this figure likely underestimates the true level of state involvement,” Parup said.
The Swedish National China Centre was established last year and is largely funded by the Swedish government to inform policymakers and businesses about China.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
RSS