Chinese clothes store bans 'annoying' Chinese shoppers

A clothes store in Beijing has caused controversy by introducing a policy banning Chinese people from shopping there.

A sign on the door reads "Chinese people may not enter (except employees)" the Beijing Youth Daily reports.

The store's owners said that they were forced to introduce the policy because "annoying" Chinese customers regularly came into the shop to try things on, but left without making a purchase.

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The store also pointed to an incident where CCTV cameras captured a foreign customer being robbed by a Chinese pickpocket. According to the store, the customer subsequently demanded $5,000 (£3,200) in compensation.

Asked by reporters whether they agreed with the policy, a sales assistant replied: "We do not want to make people think we look down on our own, but some Chinese customers ask too much."

The sign caused an immediate uproar on social media, the BBC reports. On the popular micro-blogging platform Weibo, one user wrote: "Bullying on my own doorstep. This type of shop should be closed down". Another asked "Is this still China?"

However, Lixian Dong a professor at the China University of Political Science said that while it may be offensive, the policy was probably legal: "Although the behaviour of these businesses may not be illegal, from a cultural point of view it is not appropriate."