Foreign brands, consumers in China face rising tide of nationalism, but it’s not just about pride

Mini came under fire after Chinese visitors were refused free ice cream at Shanghai Auto Show

Furore latest in a long line of controversies that includes Dolce & Gabbana, H&M and Japanese carmakers

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Many international brands have encountered consumer boycotts in China in recent years. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Published: 6:00am, 4 May 2023Updated: 9:04am, 4 May 2023

Chinese Mini Cooper owner Lily Yu said she was “very worried” last month and had wondered whether she should stop driving the car for a couple of weeks.

Her concerns, expressed in a WeChat post that featured a photograph of the car, had nothing to do with its drivability, but instead centred on the risk of embarrassment for driving a car made by a company at the centre of discrimination allegations in China.

The British marque, owned by German carmaker BMW, became the latest global brand to come under fire in China after two staff members working at the Mini booth at last month’s Shanghai Auto Show were caught on camera refusing to give free ice cream to Chinese visitors before offering some to a Western man.

A video clip of the incident triggered fierce criticism on Chinese social media about the apparent preferential treatment for foreigners, with many calling for a boycott of the brand. In response, the company issued two apologies within 24 hours on April 20 and 21.

It was a familiar furore to Yu, who ended up taking her Mini off the streets of Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China’s Zhejiang province, last month.

At the same time, negative attitudes of China appear to have increased or remained high in places such as North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Australia

Hillevi Parup

From Italian luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana, which landed itself in hot water for racist advertisements in 2018, to Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M, which was lambasted in 2021 for shunning cotton from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, many international brands have encountered consumer boycotts in recent years.

Multinationals operating in China were now facing even more pressure as online nationalism – sometimes fanned by the government – rose, tensions between China and the West worsened, and competition from local brands increased, said Hillevi Parup, an analyst at the Swedish National China Centre.

“At the same time, negative attitudes of China appear to have increased or remained high in places such as North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Australia,” she said.

“The current geopolitical environment suggests that foreign companies are under substantial strain, but this pressure comes from two sides: nationalist Chinese consumers swayed by state propaganda, as well as other consumer bases and governments, primarily Western, who have become increasingly wary of China.