The Wall Street Journal cites its informants that Chinese officials have been banned from using iPhones and smartphones of other (unnamed) foreign brands. According to “WSJ”, the ban covers not only the use of these devices for business purposes, but even bringing private Apple smartphones to work.
China attacked the US. Apple got hit. And I mean it hard
The information hit the iPhone manufacturer hard. Apple’s shares are still falling, and the company’s capitalization has already decreased by over 6%. This means that Apple is worth 190-200 billion less today than it was just two days ago.
Such a large drop in capitalization is, of course, the result of the exorbitant amount at which Apple is valued. In July, the American giant broke the all-time record, breaking the $3 trillion mark for the first time (today the valuation is slightly lower). At the close of the session on Thursday, one share of the giant was worth $177.56. On September 5, it was $12.14 more, and on July 31, each share was worth $196.45 (and it was a historical record).
China extends ban. It even covered state-owned enterprises
However, it seems that this is not the end of the problems, because – as Japan learned on Friday – Beijing has decided to extend the ban. In addition to central government officials, people employed by local governments, including local authorities in prefectures and cities, must now give up iPhones. Moreover, a similar ban will also apply to employees of state-owned enterprises, the newspaper says, citing its informants, including an official of the Chinese authorities.
An employee of one of the state-owned companies from Beijing said in an interview with “Nikkei Asia” that employees received a confidential note about the ban in the first days of September. It stated that from October 1, employees who have access to information constituting business secrets are to give up iPhones, and from March 2024, the ban will apply to all employees of the company.
If we believe the calculations of the Chinese Statistics Office from 2021, China’s local and central governments and state-owned enterprises employ a total of approximately 56.33 million people. It is therefore very likely that Apple will, to a greater or lesser extent, be affected by the ban in its future sales results.
Why doesn’t China like Apple anymore? This process is ongoing
According to reports, China’s decision may be a symbolic retaliation against the US. In 2019, the American authorities imposed a number of sanctions on the Chinese technology giant Huawei, and for some time now they have also been trying to block the TikTok application (for now, only the state of Montana has banned its residents from using TikTok). and technologies needed to produce semiconductors in China for fear that Beijing will use them to develop military technologies.
On the other hand, China has been trying for some time to become as independent as possible from Western, and especially American, solutions and technologies, which is an element of the technological and trade war that the US is waging against China. The trend of gradually abandoning computers and smartphones from abroad has been going on in the Chinese government for years – writes “Nikkei Asia”. Many government employees now have two smartphones – a Huawei for work purposes and an iPhone for personal use, said an official working for the central government.
The situation also shows that Beijing does not intend to spare any American company in order to become independent from Western devices and technologies. Even Apple, which indirectly employs hundreds of thousands, if not a million, people in China, DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte said on Thursday. Apple produces most of its smartphones in Chinese factories of the Taiwanese company Foxconn, which is the main supplier of the Silicon Valley giant. Moreover, China is one of the most important markets in the world for Apple. Sales of Apple devices in this country generated as much as 18% in 2022. total revenues of the American giant –
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
