Civil servants in eight provinces ordered to switch to Chinese smartphones
Several state-owned firms and government departments in at least eight provinces have instructed their employees to switch to local smartphone brands over the past month, Bloomberg reports.
Workers from Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Liaoning and Hebei were urged to refuse Apple technology. Hebei Province is located close to Henan Province, where the largest iPhone manufacturing plant is located.
Apple shares fell after Bloomberg reported the expansion of bans. China remains a critical market for Apple. Sales in the region have roughly tripled over the past decade.
An Apple representative declined to comment. The State Council Information Office and the Cyberspace Administration of China, which oversees online security, did not respond to the request.
The Chinese government has previously denied reports of an iPhone ban, while simultaneously expressing concerns about the device's safety. «China has not issued laws or regulations prohibiting the purchase of Apple or foreign brand phones», — Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in September.