American electronic giant Apple Inc. found itself in a sticky situation in China this week after some of its unofficial stores were targeted by small group protesters calling for a complete boycott of the company's products, Reuters reported.

The protest was in response to the U.S. backed international arbitration court's verdict earlier this month that invalidated China's territorial claims in the South China Sea. China has categorically stated that it would not accept the judgment, regardless of growing pressure.            

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Over 100 protesters demonstrated in front of four unofficial Apple stores in Suining in the eastern province of Jiangsu for nearly three hours, calling customers not to purchase Apple products.

"They chanted, 'boycott American products and kick iPhones out of China,'" store owner Zhu Yawei told Reuters. "But nothing really happened: no fights, no smashing."      

A video of the protest has gone viral on Weibo, with scores of micro-bloggers posting anti-Apple comments along with images of smashed IPhones on the social media platform.

However, amid the anti-Apple protest, a sizeable group has shown support for Apple. Some people among this group has slammed the protest as "cheap nationalism." Others claim that the images of smashed iPhones are fake.

Experts say Protests Won't Affect Apple

Experts say that the protest against Apple products was too small to have any impact on the company's fortunes in the Chinese market. However, things could change if the protest picks up.

China is a very critical market for Apple. It is world's largest smartphone market and also Apple's largest overseas market. However, Apple keeps running into problems in the country.

TagsApple Stores In China, china, Apple China, Anti-US Demonstratorion in China