Samsung slammed by Chinese state TV over Note 7 recall ''discrimination''

Hong Kong: Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has slammed South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co for what it said was "discrimination" against China consumers in its handling of a global recall of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to replace batteries.

In a commentary piece posted on its website on Thursday evening, CCTV said Samsung`s behaviour in China after the September 2 recall of 2.5 million phones was "full of arrogance".

CCTV said a video apology Samsung issued to U.S. consumers, along with various replacement options and compensation, was in stark contrast to its treatment of those in China, where the company issued a brief statement saying most phones didn`t need to be replaced. "Samsung`s discriminatory policy has caused discontent from Chinese consumers," it said.

Samsung China didn`t immediately responded to requests for comment on the CCTV criticism.

The CCTV criticism may provide an unwelcome distraction for Samsung as seeks to bolster its position in the world`s largest smartphone market. Once the number 1 mobile phone vendor in China, Samsung dropped out of top 5 in 2015, hit by the strong growth of domestic brands like Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo. 

A number of big-name global consumer brands have fallen foul of the influential broadcaster`s blasts in recent years, prompting firms from German automaker Volkswagen AG to Samsung rival Apple Inc to undertake strenuous efforts to bolster their image.

Earlier in September, after a meeting with China`s quality safety watchdog, Samsung China issued a brief statement saying 1,858 Note 7 devices sold in the country as part of a test scheme before the official launch would be recalled. 

Most Note 7s on sale in China have batteries from a different supplier and are not part of its global recall of 2.5 million phones announced on September 2, Samsung said.

But after anecdotal reports of a handful of Note 7s catching fire in the mainland, Samsung China issued a statement on Thursday apologising to Chinese consumers for a "lack of sufficient explanation" on what it said were safe Note 7 phones in China.