CHINESE consumers may boycott Apple if the US bans WeChat, warned China’s Foreign Ministry today, as the clock ticks down on a Washington order to block the popular social media app.

President Donald Trump this month announced a ban from the middle of next month on WeChat and another Chinese-owned app, TikTok, accusing them of threatening national security, further stoking tensions between the countries.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian today tweeted that “if WeChat is banned, then there will be no reason why Chinese shall keep iPhone and Apple products”.

He said on Thursday that “many Chinese people are saying they may stop using iPhones if WeChat is banned in the US”, and accused the US of the “systematic economic bullying of non-US companies” by targeting the app.

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 Covid-19.

Chinese social media users today 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,” said a user on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.

“It’s not a conflict.”

“No matter how good Apple is, it’s just a phone. It can be replaced, but WeChat is different,” said another.

“Modern Chinese people will lose their soul if they leave WeChat, especially business people.”

WeChat, known in the mainland as Weixin, has more than 1.2 billion active users.

Trump’s executive order against the app forces it to end all operations in the US, and bans Americans from doing business with it.

Apple accounted for 8% of China’s smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, according to Counterpoint Research, far behind domestic leader Huawei. – AFP, August 28, 2020.