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China has not charted out any laws or regulations prohibiting government staffers from using or purchasing foreign phones, the Chinese Foreign Ministry clarified on Wednesday.
China hasn’t issued any laws or rules to ban the use of iPhones or any other foreign phone brand, a Chinese government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“We have always been open to foreign companies and welcome them to seize the opportunities and share the fruits of China’s economic development,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference in Beijing.
She further added that China has observed “many media reports on the security incidents of Apple’s iPhone,” and that the country “attaches great importance to information and cyber security.”
Apple shares saw a tumble of 4% last week after The Wall Street Journal reported that central government employees had been prohibited from using iPhones at the workplace and even from carrying it to the government offices, citing people familiar.
Bloomberg reported that China envisaged extending the ban to government-run agencies and state-owned companies.
As per the reports, the instruction to ban iPhones was given verbally or in chat groups but it was not announced formally. The Foreign Ministry rubbished the report of constituting any official policy banning foreign phones to government officials.
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“We have indeed noticed recently that many media have exposed security incidents related to Apple mobile phones,” the spokesperson said. “The Chinese government attaches great importance to information and network security.”
