Ministry Confirms No Restrictions on Apple iPhones in China

China has denied banning the purchase or use of Apple iPhones in the country, with several media outlets claiming last week that the country has banned the use of iPhones by certain government officials.

China’s foreign ministry said there are “no laws, regulations or policy documents in China that prohibit the purchase or use of mobile phones from foreign brands such as Apple,” according to the state-run Global Times.

The Beijing government said China is committed to opening up at a high level, protecting the investment rights and interests of foreign investors in accordance with the law “and creating a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment.”

“We always have an open attitude towards foreign companies and welcome them to seize China’s development opportunities and share the fruits of China’s economic development,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning late Wednesday.

Ning said that they recently noticed that there has been a lot of media coverage of Apple’s mobile phone security breaches.

“The Chinese government attaches great importance to information and cyber security and treats both domestic and foreign companies equally,” the spokesperson added.

Last week it was reported in the media that Apple was exposed to two major security flaws that could lead to the leakage of personal data.

China said all mobile phone companies must strictly comply with its Data Protection Law and Personal Information Protection Law, as well as other relevant laws and regulations.

Apple shares fell significantly last week because Chinese government employees have been banned from using iPhones.

The company’s stock market valuation has fallen by more than 6 percent, or almost 200 billion dollars.

China is the technology giant’s third largest market, accounting for 18 percent of its total turnover last year.

This week, Apple announced the new iPhone 15 series, as well as Apple Watches and AirPods Pro (2nd generation)