Apple’s shares have dropped for the second day in a row because of news that Chinese government employees can’t use iPhones.
In the past two days, the value of Apple’s company on the stock market has gone down by more than 6%, which is almost $200 billion.
China is the third-largest market for Apple, making up 18% of its total earnings last year.
Most of Apple’s products are made in China by its biggest supplier, Foxconn.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the government in Beijing told officials from central government agencies not to bring iPhones to work or use them for work.
The next day, Bloomberg News said this ban might also affect workers at state-owned companies and government-supported organizations.
This news came out right before the expected launch of the iPhone 15 on September 12.
There hasn’t been an official statement from the Chinese government regarding these reports.
Apple is the most valuable company on the stock market globally, worth nearly $2.8 trillion.
They haven’t commented on these reports when asked by the BBC.
These reports come at a time when tensions between the United States and China are high.
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This year, the United States, along with Japan and the Netherlands, limited China’s access to some chip technology.
China responded by limiting the exports of two materials that are crucial for making computer chips.
Beijing is also said to be creating a new $40 billion investment fund to help its own chip-making industry.
Just last week, during a visit to Beijing by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the Chinese tech giant Huawei surprisingly revealed its new Mate 60 Pro smartphone.
A technology research firm called TechInsights said this phone has a new 5G Kirin 9000s processor, developed for Huawei by China’s largest contract chipmaker, SMIC.
An analyst from TechInsights named Dan Hutchenson said this shows how much progress China has made in its semiconductor industry.
An investment firm called Jefferies also praised this as a significant achievement for China.
This week, a US congressman named Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House of Representatives committee on China, urged the Commerce Department to put further restrictions on exports to Huawei and SMIC.
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