‘Don’t bring iPhone to work': Chinese firms in 8 provinces tell employees

Chinese agencies and state-backed companies have now asked their staff not to bring Apple's iPhones and other ‘foreign’ devices to work, the latest move by Beijing to cut reliance on technologies developed by other countries.

Several state companies and government departments across eight provinces have asked their employees to start carrying devices made by local brands, Bloomberg reported.

Multiple firms and agencies in cities of provinces including Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaoning and central Hebei, which houses the world's largest iPhone factory, issued their own verbal directives. According to a Reuters report, staff in at least three ministries and government bodies were asked not to use iPhones at work.

Reuters reported in September that staff in at least three ministries and government bodies were told not to use iPhones at work.

According to an Al Jazeera report, the Chinese establishment's move was being seen as an effort to prop up domestic companies including Huawei that had launched a new Mate 60 Pro smartphone.

The Communist-ruled nation has been seeking to reduce reliance on foreign technologies, and has been asking state-affiliated firms like banks to switch to local software and promoting domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing.

It is no secret that both the US and China view each other's tech companies as potential security risks that could lead to sensitive data being leaked.

In May this year, China had urged big state-owned enterprises to play a key role in its drive to attain self-reliance in technology, raising the stakes in the race amid rifts with the United States.

(With Bloomberg inputs)