US Accuses China of Retaliation Through Apple iPhone Ban
In its first response to the backlash against Apple Inc., the White House has stated that it perceives China’s actions of implementing and extending a government prohibition on iPhones as a retaliatory measure against the United States.
“We’re watching this with concern, obviously. It appears to be part of — the kind of aggressive and inappropriate retaliation against U.S. companies that we’ve seen from China in the past. That’s what this appears to be,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“The truth is we don’t have full visibility into what they’re doing and why, and we’re certainly calling on them to be more open about what they’re seeing and what they’re doing,” he added.
Bloomberg News reported this month that China plans to extend the iPhone ban to a number of state-backed companies and agencies, a sign of Apple’s growing challenges in the country. Several Chinese agencies have started instructing staff not to bring their iPhones to work.
The situation became more confusing on Wednesday, when Beijing denied reports of restrictions on the iPhone and at the same time raised concerns about the device’s data security problems.
“China has not issued laws and regulations to prohibit the purchase of Apple or foreign brand phones,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told a regular press conference in Beijing. It marked the government’s first comments on the matter, but it did not appear to directly refer to a workplace ban on the device.
Mao said the government attaches “great importance” to security and that all companies operating in China must comply with its laws and regulations. “We noticed that there have been many reports in the media about security breaches involving Apple phones,” he said.
The remarks left US investors uncertain about Apple’s position in China – which is both the company’s production base and its largest international market – just in time for the launch of the new iPhone. The stock fell 1.2 percent during the day.
Earlier: China sows new confusion about Apple with security notice
The tensions between China and Apple are part of a wider confrontation between the world’s two largest economies. The United States has restricted the export of advanced chip-making equipment to China over fears that such technology will help equip the Asian nation’s military. China has imposed its own export restrictions and restricted the ability of US chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. to sell products.
Mao’s comments about the security failures were slightly different in the official English translation of the news conference. There was no reference to the media “reports” in that translation, which was simultaneously provided by the ministry on the spot. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press conferences are typically strictly controlled, and the answers of the informants are usually scripted in advance with consistent translations.
The Chinese press conference was held just a few hours after Apple announced the latest model of its marquee device, the iPhone 15. The company introduced four new models that kept pace with the last few generations: iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. . Pre-orders for the device start on Friday.
An Apple spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Apple has faced several security issues in recent months. The iPhone of an employee of a Washington-based civil society organization was remotely hacked with spyware created by the Israeli group NSO. Apple confirmed the attack and released a patch last week to address the issue.
In June, Russia’s Federal Security Service, FSB, accused an unknown US intelligence agency of hacking several thousand iPhones. The attacks were linked to SIM cards registered by diplomats working in Russia, including some from China.
Apple did not comment at the time on whether Russian phones had been breached, but a spokesperson said the company did not assist any government in the alleged attack, as the FSB implied.
