BEIJING (Daily Point) — Numerous Chinese agencies and state-backed companies throughout the country have reportedly instructed their employees not to bring Apple iPhones and other foreign devices to the workplace, according to sources cited by Bloomberg News on Friday.
China has been actively working to reduce its dependence on foreign technologies for over a decade, urging state-affiliated entities, including banks, to transition to local software and promoting the development of domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing.
In the past month or two, multiple state firms and government departments in at least eight provinces have allegedly issued directives for employees to use local brands, as per the Bloomberg News report.
Apple has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
The report mentions that in December, smaller firms and agencies in lower-tier cities from provinces like Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaoning, and central Hebei—home to the world’s largest iPhone factory—issued verbal directives of their own.
In a previous report from September, Reuters stated that staff in at least three ministries and government bodies were instructed not to use iPhones while at work.