Samsung to recall all 190,984 Galaxy Note 7s sold in China

The Galaxy Note 7's China destiny took a sharp twist on Tuesday, as the country's top quality watchdog announced on its website that Samsung Electronics' China unit will recall all 190,984 Galaxy Note 7 phones sold in the Chinese mainland.

The amount also includes the 1,858 previously recalled units, all of which were pre-orders from Samsung's official Chinese website ahead of its September 1 release, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

Samsung has asked all retail partners globally to halt sales of the Note 7. It has also stopped production of the handset for good after the new batch was also found to be prone to explosions.

Shortly after AQSIQ's announcement, Samsung posted a new statement on its official China website, indicating it will halt Note 7 sales and start recalling the handsets in the country.

The Korean brand apologized for the inconvenience caused to Chinese consumers, but shied away from responsibilities regarding recent reported incidents of Note 7s exploding in the country. So far, Chinese consumers have reported 20 such cases, according to AQSIQ.

Samsung previously took a hard stance on China, claiming that Note 7s sold in the country were equipped with safe batteries and refused a mass recall in the market, despite exploding battery incidents reported widely by the Chinese media. It previously stated that such incidents in China were a result of "external heating".

Consumers can now either get a full refund for their Note 7 or exchange it for another Samsung handset. Samsung will return the difference of the two pricetags and render a shopping voucher worth 300 yuan ($45).

Samsung has also replaced Note 7 advertising on its Chinese website's homepage with its earlier flagship Galaxy S7 models.