The Guardian - China-Apple shares fall after China reportedly bans iPhone use by government officials
September 6, 2023 3 min 486 words
中国政府据称禁止官员使用iPhone后，苹果股价下跌。这一举动显示中国，作为苹果最大的市场之一，不愿放过任何美国公司，以促进本土技术发展。中国官员在工作聊天群或会议中收到这一指令，但尚不清楚这一命令的普及程度。这一报道严重影响了华尔街的股指，苹果股价下跌了3.6%。中国是苹果最大的市场之一，占据其收入的近五分之一。 分析师表示，这一举措显示北京不愿意在减少对美国技术依赖方面放过任何美国公司。即使是苹果在中国也不例外，它通过与富士康的合作雇佣了数十万，甚至可能超过一百万的工人来组装其产品。 这可能引发外国公司在中国运营的担忧，特别是在中美紧张关系升级之际。此举也发生在苹果下周将举行新iPhone系列发布活动之前，分析师认为这次活动将涉及新iPhone的发布。 这一限制与美国对中国智能手机制造商华为和中国字节跳动旗下的短视频平台TikTok采取的类似禁令相似。十多年来，中国一直在寻求减少对外国技术的依赖，要求国有企业如银行切换到本地软件并促进国内半导体芯片制造。 尽管中国政府限制了美国公司的出口，但不会立即对苹果的收入产生影响，因为iPhone在中国非常受欢迎。随着华盛顿与盟友合作，阻止中国获得维持其芯片产业竞争力所需的关键设备，以及北京限制了来自波音和Micron Technology等知名美国公司的出口，中美紧张关系已经升级。 尽管如此，对中国的商业环境的担忧日益加剧，美国商务部长吉娜·蕾蒙多在上周访问中国时表示，美国公司向她抱怨中国已经成为“不值得投资”的国家，指出了对在全球第二大经济体开展业务构成风险的罚款、搜查等行动。
Apple stocks fell after China reportedly banned officials at central government agencies from using or bringing iPhones and other foreign-branded devices into the office.
In recent weeks, Chinese officials were given the instructions by their superiors in workplace chat groups or meetings, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that it wasn’t clear how widely the orders were being distributed.
The report weighed heavily on Wall Street stock indexes, with Apple shares falling 3.6%. China is one of Apple’s biggest markets and generates nearly a fifth of its revenue.
Several analysts said on Wednesday that the reported move showed Beijing was not willing to spare any US company in its push to reduce its dependence on American technologies.
“Even Apple is not immune … in China where it employs hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million workers, to assemble its products through its relationship with Foxconn,” DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte said.
This “should inspire companies to diversify both their supply chain and customer concentrations to be less dependent on China in the event the tensions get worse”.
The ban could trigger concerns among foreign companies operating in China as Sino-US tensions escalate, and comes ahead of an Apple event next week that analysts believe will be about launching a new line of iPhones.
The WSJ report did not name other phone-makers besides Apple. Apple and China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the Chinese government, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The latest restriction by China mirrors similar bans taken in the US against Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies and short video platform TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance.
For over a decade, China has been seeking to reduce reliance on foreign technologies, asking state-affiliated firms such as banks to switch to local software and promoting domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing.
Huawei recently released a 5G smartphone that uses an advanced silicon chip on a scale of miniaturisation that was thought beyond its capabilities due to US-led export restrictions, analysts have said.
The Mate 60’s processor is the first to use SMIC’s most advanced 7 nanometre (nm) technology and suggests the Chinese government is making some headway in attempts to build a domestic chip ecosystem, analysis firm TechInsights said.
Sino-US tensions have been high as Washington works with allies to block China’s access to vital equipment needed to keep its chip industry competitive, and Beijing restricts shipments from prominent US firms including planemaker Boeing and chip company Micron Technology.
No immediate impact on Apple’s earnings is expected, however, considering the popularity of the iPhone in China, CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino said.
During a visit to China last week, US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said US companies had complained to her that China had become “uninvestible”, pointing to fines, raids and other actions that have made it risky to do business in the world’s second-largest economy.
With Reuters