China Encourages Local Brands, Discourages iPhone Use at Work

According to information from “Bloomberg News” reported on Friday, citing well-informed sources, an increasing number of Chinese agencies and state-supported companies across the country have instructed their employees not to bring iPhones and other foreign devices to work.

For over a decade, China has been working to reduce its reliance on foreign technologies, urging state-owned enterprises such as banks to transition to local software and promote the manufacturing of domestic semiconductor chips.

As per a Bloomberg report, reviewed by “Arabia Business,” many government-owned companies and administrations in at least eight provinces have issued instructions to their employees in the past two months to start using local brands.

In December, small businesses and agencies in lower-tier cities, including Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaoning, and central Hebei, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, issued their own verbal directives, as indicated in the report.

In September, Reuters reported that employees in at least three ministries and government agencies were instructed not to use iPhones at work.