China's iPhone ban done to limit market access, not over safety

A Congressman has commented that he is not surprised by China's new ban on iPhones for state employees, but it does not believe that this measure is linked to security concerns.

China has recently imposed a new policy for the safety of its central government office workers. As part of this policy, employees cannot use their iPhones for work or even bring them into the building.

The move is an escalation of the government's existing restrictions on using foreign-designed technology, which have been in place for the past ten years. While said to be because of security concerns, U.S. House members believe it to be more a retaliation in ongoing U.S./Chinese relations.

"This is textbook Chinese Communist Party (CCP) behavior - promote PRC (People's Republic of China) national champions in telecommunications, and slowly squeeze western companies' market access," U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher said in an emailed statement, seen by Reuters.

While the ban took effect on Wednesday, reports have indicated it's not being enforced.

The move by China has yet to be confirmed by official sources. Conventional wisdom suggests that it may be a move to boost the home-grown Huawei's first 5G phone, since US sanctions bit.

Even though the move may be done to curb market access, most iPhones sold in China are bought by the general public — not the government. About 19% of Apple's iPhone sales overall come from China.

Despite China's smartphone market contraction, iPhone sales to the public are expanding.

56 Comments

avon b7 8012 comments · 20 Years

About 1 year ago

I have to chuckle:

"This is textbook Chinese Communist Party (CCP) behavior - promote PRC (People's Republic of China) national champions in telecommunications, and slowly squeeze western companies' market access"

And what was the whole Huawei thing in the US about then?

Slightly more of a squeeze!

mike1 3432 comments · 10 Years

Retaliation for Huawei and TikTok hassles in the US?

mayfly 385 comments · 1 Year

avon b7 said:

I have to chuckle:

"This is textbook Chinese Communist Party (CCP) behavior - promote PRC (People's Republic of China) national champions in telecommunications, and slowly squeeze western companies' market access"

And what was the whole Huawei thing in the US about then?

Slightly more of a squeeze!

No way Apple would be complicit in allowing the NSA to install spyware on their iPhones for sale in China, the way the Chinese did on Huawei phones for sale here.

tmay 6455 comments · 11 Years

avon b7 said:

I have to chuckle:

"This is textbook Chinese Communist Party (CCP) behavior - promote PRC (People's Republic of China) national champions in telecommunications, and slowly squeeze western companies' market access"

And what was the whole Huawei thing in the US about then?

Slightly more of a squeeze!

The restrictions that the U.S. placed on Huawei Telecom, and later Huawei phones, were never in connection to Apple, so no, not close to the same thing. More to the point, China cannot afford to squeeze Apple too much, as it through its contractors employs millions.

There have been concerns about Huawei Telecom in the West, and why Huawei should be disallowed in critical telecom infrastructure, and these have largely played out, with the exception of some holdouts in the EU who will ultimately have to remove Huawei Telecom gear.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/eu-considers-mandatory-ban-using-huawei-build-5g-ft-2023-06-07/

Still chuckling?

mayfly said:

avon b7 said:

I have to chuckle:

"This is textbook Chinese Communist Party (CCP) behavior - promote PRC (People's Republic of China) national champions in telecommunications, and slowly squeeze western companies' market access"

And what was the whole Huawei thing in the US about then?

Slightly more of a squeeze!

No way Apple would be complicit in allowing the NSA to install spyware on their iPhones for sale in China, the way the Chinese did on Huawei phones for sale here.

There was no mention of any of that in the quoted text. It amounted to protectionism, not spying.

Apple or Huawei wouldn't have to be complicit in anything when it comes to the NSA or Chinese equivalents.

We know a fair bit about the NSA's activities though thanks to Snowden.

As far a protectionism goes, the US had no cutting edge ICT infrastructure to protect but strong-arming Huawei out of the US (see the 2017 AT&T/Huawei situation) absolutely did protect Apple from Huawei on US soil.

That's why the quote is laughable.