Apple shares down sharply. It’s all Beijing’s fault. Chinese officials were given clear instructions

The US-China trade war hits not only Chinese but also US tech giants. Recently, the US authorities are trying to ban the use of TikTok by officials (such a ban has so far been introduced in the state of Montana), and China has retaliated by banning its authorities from using iPhones at work.

China has banned iPhones from officials. Apple shares fell

How Chinese officials were banned from using iPhones and smartphones of other (unnamed) foreign brands for official purposes. They also can’t bring Apple phones to work. It is not certain how wide-ranging this action is, but – according to “WSJ” informants – it concerns at least officials working for the central authorities.

This turn of events hit Apple, for which China is one of the most important markets in the world. The American technology giant sells a large part of its devices in the Middle Kingdom. The decision of the Chinese authorities quickly resulted in a drop in Apple shares. Following the publication of the New York newspaper’s article, the company’s shares fell 3.6 percent. – writes The Guardian.

The situation shows that Beijing does not intend to spare any American company in order to become independent of Western devices and technologies. Even Apple, which indirectly employs hundreds of thousands, if not a million people in China, said DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte in an interview with the British daily. Apple produces most of its smartphones in the Chinese factories of the Taiwanese company Foxconn, which is the main supplier of the Silicon Valley giant. He adds that such a move on the part of China should make other Western concerns think about diversifying their supply chains and not focusing their sales efforts on one country. This will help avoid unpleasant situations in the event of further clashes between Beijing and Washington in the future.

China is looking for its own solutions. They invest in chips

The Chinese have recently been doing what they can to become independent of Western technologies. Tensions with the US led to Washington imposing sanctions on Chinese smartphone and telecommunications giant Huawei. As a result, the company cannot use from Google services and Western 5G technologies, and sales of Huawei smartphones in Western markets dropped dramatically. with support for 5G connectivity, which has already hit the latest flagship smartphones of the first company.

Its goal is to raise around $40 billion for the semiconductor industry with the support of the Chinese authorities. This is a response to further US restrictions, which are concerned that Western chips may be used by China to increase military capabilities.