China's Ban On Apple’s iPhone Intensifies

More Chinese agencies and state-backed companies across the country have asked their staff not to bring Apple iPhones and other foreign devices to work, according to Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple Sanlitun is the next iteration of Apple’s first store in China. I Photo: Apple

For over a decade, China has been seeking to reduce reliance on foreign technologies, asking state-affiliated firms such as banks to switch to local software and promoting domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing.

Multiple state firms and government departments across at least eight provinces have instructed employees in the past month or two to start carrying local brands, the report said.

In December, smaller firms and agencies in lower-tier cities from provinces including Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaoning, and central Hebei, which houses the world's largest iPhone factory, issued their own verbal directives, according to the Bloomberg News report.

Reuters reported in September that staff in at least three ministries and government bodies were told not to use iPhones at work.

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