Lenovo branded ‘unpatriotic’ by Chinese consumers in nationalistic backlash
- Quiet name change on Chinese social media revives accusations about technology company’s loyalties
Chinese technology company Lenovo is taking heat from the country’s online community which has jumped on a recent name change to revive accusations that it is unpatriotic.
Lenovo quietly changed its name to Lenovo China on the social media platform Weibo on May 31, triggering a heated debate about the company’s patriotism during the ongoing trade war with the US.
According to Chinese online media sites Suho News and Zol.com.cn, Lenovo’s intention was to “let everyone know Lenovo is a patriotic company” in what was seen as a strategy to target the local Chinese market.
Instead, within a week “Lenovo renamed as Lenovo China” began trending on Weibo, with many online commenters expressing scepticism about the name change.
“Lenovo China and China’s Lenovo is not the same,” a top comment said, while another read: “It is only normal for a foreign company to add ‘China’ behind its name.”
It is the latest in a series of missteps by the company which has drawn the ire of Chinese consumers, whose nationalistic sentiment has been rising in recent months in response to the US-China trade war, which has seen both sides slapping trade tariffs on each other.
Lenovo first stirred controversy last year when CEO Yang Yuanqing gave an interview to The Inquirer, a UK-based technology website, in which he said, “We’re not a Chinese company, we’re a global company”.
In May this year, Yang again sparked outrage when he told US broadcaster CNBC that the company could shift some of its production away from China if the US were to impose more tariffs on the country’s exports.
Also last month, rumours began circulating that Lenovo – under pressure from the US – had suspended supplies to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, sparking further nationalistic outrage. The company dismissed the rumours and apologised for Yang’s “inaccurate” remarks in the interviews, but many Chinese consumers were not appeased.
Lenovo has not made an official announcement about the adjustment to its name on Weibo, and could not be reached for comment. Its official website and other platforms continue to show the company’s name as Lenovo.
Other companies have also fallen victim to the rising nationalistic tide in China, with many consumers opting to switch from Apple to Huawei devices in response to US efforts to marginalise the telecoms giant.
