The Chinese government responded evasively on Wednesday to reports of a ban on the use of iPhones by government officials, saying the country does not have a ban on buying foreign-made phones, Reuters reported.

“China has not issued any laws, regulations or policy documents to prohibit the purchase or use of any foreign phone brands such as Apple,” said Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, when asked about it during a daily press briefing. – conferences of the ministry. in Beijing.

“But recently we’ve noticed a lot of media interest in security incidents involving Apple phones. The Chinese government attaches great importance to cyber security and information security and treats local and foreign companies equally,” she added.

As such, Ning avoided directly responding to published reports that the Chinese government has banned its employees from bringing iPhones into the office or using them for work-related work.

The Wall Street Journal first reported last Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the Communist government in Beijing has decided to ban employees of the central government apparatus, as well as agencies under its direct control, from using iPhones or other foreign brands for work. or bring them to the workplace.

Apple, the maker of the iPhone, quickly lost $100 billion in its stock market capitalization after the news broke, and its share price fell more than 3 percent.

The Chinese government wants all its employees to ditch the iPhone

Two days later, journalists from Nikkei Asia, the region’s most famous financial magazine, in turn said, citing sources close to the matter, that the ban would actually apply not only to employees of the central government in Beijing and its subordinate institutions, but also to employees of local governments and all state companies.

The move comes after a decade in which China has reduced its reliance on foreign technology by requiring companies that do business with the state to divest and invest heavily in developing local industries.

The communist government has stepped up efforts in this regard since 2020, when leaders in Beijing proposed a so-called “dual circulation” growth model that would reduce the need to rely on foreign markets and technology.

Several analysts noted last week that the new move to target Apple shows that Beijing’s government is unwilling to spare any American company in its efforts to do so.

“Even Apple is not immune (…) in China, where it has hundreds of thousands of employees, if not more than a million, working on its production lines thanks to its relationship with Foxconn,” said analyst Tom Forte of consultancy DA Davidson.

Reports in the financial press about the ban on iPhones by Chinese government officials came days before Apple unveiled its new iPhone 15 model this Tuesday.