China Lashes Out At Apple For Mentioning Taiwan At Its iPhone Launch Event, Says Can Hurt Sales 

After United Airlines sparked controversy over its Taiwan recognition, Apple Inc. another US giant mentioned Taiwan in the company’s mega event, without resorting to China’s preferred terminology reports Business Insider.

The spat broke out while Apple listed launch dates for the new iPhone XS and XS Max, for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan separately.

Apple came under severe criticism especially from the Chinese media, urging the company to use Taiwan, China instead of listing Taiwan separately. The United States (US) government had earlier backed the companies to China’s demand that Taiwan is referred to as being part of China.

Many critics had also warned Apple that the mention of Taiwan would hurt the sales of Apple in China. This will not only damage the company's reputation and market demand but also cause unnecessary political and legal troubles commented on a prominent Chinese media.

China is one of Apple's largest markets, as well as home to its main production base. China had earlier forced US airlines to remove their references to Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Commentators on China’s microblogging site Weibo accused Apple of disrespecting China and threatened to return all their Apple products.