Apple’s ban on iPhones in China appears to be retaliation,…

Bloomberg – The White House said it believes China’s move to impose and expand a government ban on iPhones is an attempt to retaliate against the United States, as it was the first to weigh in on the backlash against Apple Inc. (AAPL).

“We are obviously watching this with concern. It appears to be related to the kind of aggressive and inappropriate retaliation against American companies that we have seen in the People’s Republic of China in the past. “This is what it looks like,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

He added: “The reality is that we do not have a complete view of exactly what they are doing and why, and we would certainly ask them to be more transparent about what they are seeing and what they are doing.”

Bloomberg News It was reported this month that China plans to extend the ban on the use of iPhones to include a large number of state-backed companies and bodies, a sign of the growing challenges that Apple faces in the country. Many Chinese agencies have begun instructing their employees not to bring their iPhones to work.

The situation became more confusing on Wednesday, when Beijing contradicted reports about restrictions on the iPhone while also raising concerns about security issues related to the device.

“China has not enacted laws or regulations prohibiting the purchase of Apple phones or foreign-branded phones.” Mao Ning, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said this at a press conference in Beijing. These were the government’s first comments on the issue, but did not appear to directly refer to banning the device in the workplace.

Mao said the government attaches “great importance” to safety and that all companies operating in China must comply with its laws and regulations. He said: “We noticed that there were many reports in the media about security incidents related to Apple phones.”

These statements left American investors unsure about Apple’s position in China – which is the company’s production base and its largest international market – at the time of the launch of the new iPhone. Shares fell 1.2% on the day.

The tensions between China and Apple are part of a broader standoff between the world’s two largest economies. The United States has limited its exports of advanced chip-making equipment to China, citing concerns that the technology will help equip the Asian country’s military. China imposed its own export restrictions and restricted the capacity of US chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. to sell its products.

Mao’s comments on the security events were slightly different in the official English translation of the press conference. That translation, delivered by the ministry at the same time, omitted the reference to media “reports.” State Department briefings are often tightly censored, and spokespeople’s responses are often prepared in advance with consistent translations.

The Chinese press conference came a few hours after Apple presented the latest model of its leading devices, the iPhone 15. The company presented four new models in the rhythm of recent generations: iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max. Pre-orders for the device begin on Friday.

An Apple spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Apple has faced several security issues in recent months. The iPhone of an employee of a civil society organization in Washington was hacked remotely using spyware Created by the Israeli NSO Group. Apple confirmed the attack and issued a patch last week to fix the problem.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, accused an unnamed US intelligence agency in June of hacking several thousand iPhones. According to the FSB, the attacks were linked to SIM cards registered by diplomats based in Russia, including some Chinese.

Apple did not comment at the time on whether any Russian phones had been hacked. But a company spokesperson said the company did not assist any government in the alleged attack, as Russia’s Federal Security Service had implied.

–With assistance from Philip Glaman, Lulu Chen, and Sarah Zheng.