Apple Inc found itself on the receiving end of a small, short-lived anti-US protest this week in China, the tech firm’s biggest overseas market and a country where foreign firms have suffered damaging boycotts following international spats.
A handful of unofficial Apple stores were picketed and social media users encouraged each other to destroy their Apple goods, in a rare instance of the tech firm being targeted as a symbol of perceived injustice following an international ruling against Chinese territorial claims.
Though the protest was small, observers have expressed concern about the impact on Apple in the long term, citing the roughly year-long slump in sales of Japanese cars after a diplomatic dispute that prompted large protests and boycotts.
“There’s not much Apple or any other foreign firm can do to prevent such patriotic protests,” said analyst Nicole Peng at researcher Canalys, who sees no impact to Apple’s sales from the recent protest. “These incidents happen every few years.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China is the world’s biggest smartphone market.
