Hong Kong (CNN) — Apple is offering unprecedented price cuts in China amid weak consumer demand as major brands and retailers launch promotions to celebrate its annual “618” shopping festival.

The massive discounts offered by the iPhone maker come as it battles fierce competition from Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei and Vivo and declining market share in the world’s second-largest economy.

On Monday, Apple said it would reduce the prices of some of its smartphones on Tmall – Alibaba’s Amazon-like site – by as much as 23% through May 28.

Customers can now get iPhone 15 for 4,599 yuan ($639), which is 1,400 yuan ($194) less than the original price, according to promotions in the official Apple store on Tmall.

Apple hopes to boost sales during China’s second-biggest online shopping bonanza, which typically runs from late May to mid-June. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Launched by e-commerce company JD.com in 2008, “618” is second only to Singles’ Day, which was created by Alibaba in 2009.

Today, both festivals dwarf Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday in terms of total sales, with all major Chinese e-commerce sites and many brick-and-mortar retailers offering weeks of promotions on their platforms to lure customers. Celebrities often get in on the action.

Rihanna was in Shanghai on Tuesday, making the popular Chinese breakfast crepe and hosting live sessions showcasing her Fenty Beauty products on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

Although Apple has been slashing prices on its iPhone 15 and iPad models sold in China since October, this month’s discounts are the largest the company has ever offered at its largest overseas stores according to Chinese state media.

“Apple must aggressively defend market share (in China),” Jefferies analysts said in a note Tuesday.

According to data collected by Counterpoint Research, Apple’s market share in China fell to 15.7% in the first quarter of this year, compared to 19.7% a year earlier. Meanwhile, Huawei saw its sales increase by 70%, closing the gap with Apple.

After Monday’s price cuts, Apple’s iPhone 15 is now in the same price range as Xiaomi and Huawei smartphones.

Smartphone makers aren’t the only companies waging a price war in China.

Almost every sector, from food and clothing to consumer electronics and cars, is offering deep discounts reflecting the dramatic shift in consumption patterns in the country.

The 618 shopping festival, a key barometer of consumption in the country, saw growing competition from e-commerce sites and retail brands to offer discounts.

However, the price cuts have become so brutal that some companies are boycotting the event.

Over 50 books issued joint statements on Monday saying they would not participate in this year’s shopping festival due to aggressive pricing policies that require them to offer discounts of 20% to 30% on JD.com.

One statement issued by 10 publishing houses in Beijing said the boycott was a necessary move to “maintain stability and prosperity” in the book publishing market.

The second statement, published by 46 companies in Shanghai, said they were against “disorderly” competition in the market.

Even the largest state-owned publishing houses expressed opposition to “chaotic” price wars.

“We hope there will be greater resistance to the chaos of discounting or more effective control,” a subsidiary of Shanghai Century Publishing said on Monday on its official account on Xiaohongshu, a domestic Instagram-like social media platform.

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CNN’s Stephy Chung and Hassan Tayir contributed reporting.