The move against Burberry follows close on the heels of state media calling for a boycott of H&M by Chinese citizens, and its expected other companies will soon come under fire in a pattern clearly laid out by China’s prior treatment of Australia and Canada. In the case of Australia, the Chinese government laid on massive tariffs on Australian wine; a devastating blow considering China is, by far, the largest consumer of Australian wines in the world. Canada earned the ire of China after it detained Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
Ironically, it was the US that wanted Meng detained on charges she conspired to hide violations of US trade sanctions, but it was Canada that took the heat. Two Canadian citizens were arrested and have been detained for more than two years on what most governments consider entirely fabricated charges of espionage. Canada, which exports more than $100 billion worth of products to China annually, also faced tariffs on canola and pork.
Now it appears China is targeting the corporate world in an attempt to quash any criticism of its human rights record.
The Honor of Kings is also notable in that it is owned by Tencent, the Chinese digital giant that, among other things, operates the dominant WeChat platform, and has a market cap of almost $800 million. It is considered the seventh most valuable company in the world, and running afoul of Tencent is the Chinese equivalent of being targeted by Google parent company Alphabet. Tencent reports that in 2020, gamers spent $2.6 billion on the game, making Honor of Kings not only the most profitable game of all time but also a critical market for both local and Western brands.
It was only days ago that Burberry and game developer TiMi Studios announced a collaboration on designing fashionable new ‘skins’ for characters in the game. The skins were designed by Riccardo Tisci, chief creative officer at Burberry, for the character Yao.
“Burberry’s signature gabardine, pioneered by founder Thomas Burberry and designed to protect the wearer against the elements, fits seamlessly with Yao, who personifies the role of a protector for her teammates,” the companies said in a press release on March 22. “The two skins were designed with the “spirit of nature” in mind and will be available to purchase for players in mainland China, though there’s no word on a release date.”
Today, that release date looks like it’s a long way off. Partnerships like these are an ideal door for entry to the Chinese market, as Honor of Kings and Tencent provide direct access to tens of millions of younger, affluent Chinese citizens. Now, Tencent and presumably the Chinese government are sending a clear message that criticism of its internal affairs will not be tolerated. Tencent announced the suspension on Weibo, a microblogging platform similar to Reddit or Tumblr, which it also owns. In announcing the ban, Tencent specifically cited Burberry’s statement that it would no longer buy cotton from the Xingiang region.