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It’s Been a Weird Week for Spain’s Image in China

By Teng Jing Xuan / Feb 22, 2019 12:21 PM / World

Photo: VCG

Photo: VCG

A few Spanish companies have found themselves in hot water in recent days after offending Chinese customers.

First, hundreds of Chinese citizens living in Spain took to the streets of Madrid late last week to protest against BBVA, Spain’s second largest bank. The protestors said their bank accounts had been unfairly frozen, and accused the bank of using a new anti-money-laundering policy to discriminate against Chinese customers.

BBVA later apologized and unfroze some of the affected accounts.

But the discussion hasn’t died down on Chinese media, with multiple outlets reporting today that another Spanish bank, Bankia, has frozen a large number of Chinese users’ accounts.

Meanwhile, the appearance of Chinese model Li Jingwen’s freckled face in Spanish fashion brand Zara’s latest campaign has sparked a backlash on Chinese social media.

Some people weren’t happy that Zara showed off Li’s freckles, a feature considered undesirable in China, and thought the image was making Chinese women look bad. Some claimed so few Asian women had freckles that Zara must’ve tried very hard to find someone with such a “western” feature.

Others praised the brand for celebrating Li’s natural beauty.

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