Oppo cancels 5G phone live launch in India as demands to boycott China products go strong

Oppo has cancelled the livestream to launch its 5G phone in India as protests called for boycott of China-made products, following escalated border tensions with the neighbour.

The Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a stand-off in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh, after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley on night of June 15.

The incident has stirred anti-China sentiments with protesters and some trade bodies like CAIT calling for boycott of Chinese products.

Oppo, which ranks among the top five smartphone vendors in India, had said it will livestream the launch of its Find X2 smartphone on June 17 via YouTube. But the event was cancelled later on, and the company instead uploaded a pre-recorded video.

While Oppo did not respond to queries seeking reason for the cancellation, reports suggest that the cancellation was done in view of the protests.India-China Border News LIVE

In a press release, the company said the premium 5G 'Find X2' handset will be available in India for Rs 64,990.

On Twitter, hashtags like #HindiCheeniByeBye (32,900 tweets) and #BharatVsChina (3,657 Tweets) were trending.

Four of the top five smartphone brands in India (Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo) are from China, and accounted for almost 76 per cent share of smartphones shipped in India in the March 2020 quarter.

South Korea's Samsung, which ranked third and cornered 15.6 per cent share of shipment in the said quarter, is the only non-Chinese firm in the top five tally.

(With inputs from PTI)

Read our complete coverage on the India-China border tension.