China states it hasn’t banned iPhones or overseas gadgets for authorities workers

China has not instituted any legislation or polices prohibiting federal government staff members from applying or obtaining overseas phones, the Chinese Overseas Ministry said Wednesday, addressing media experiences that reported governing administration staffers experienced been banned from using Apple iPhones.

“China has not issued any guidelines, polices or coverage documents prohibiting the order and use of cell phones from international makes this kind of as Apple,” a Ministry of Overseas Affairs spokesperson explained at a frequently scheduled briefing Wednesday in Beijing.

Apple shares dipped as substantially as 4% very last week immediately after The Wall Avenue Journal documented that staffers at central government companies experienced been banned from employing iPhones for get the job done and even from bringing the smartphones into federal government places of work, citing individuals familiar. Bloomberg documented that China prepared to lengthen the ban to govt-backed organizations and state-owned enterprises, citing folks acquainted.

The Journal claimed that the recommendations ended up given out verbally or in chat teams but that there was not formal direction on the make a difference. The Overseas Ministry exclusively denied the existence of any formal coverage barring overseas cellular phone use but did not address the casual advice noted by the Journal.

Apple shares were down a lot less than 1% in early trading Wednesday, a working day right after the company introduced the new Iphone 15.

The reaction from the Overseas Ministry spokesperson also pointed out unspecified “stability incidents” linked to iPhones.

“We have certainly discovered just lately that lots of media have exposed security incidents connected to Apple cell phones,” the spokesperson reported. “The Chinese governing administration attaches terrific worth to info and community safety.”

— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.