China Ratchets up Tension with US by Excluding Apple Products from Procurement List over Security Concerns

It’s being reported today that China’s government has officially excluded Apple iPads and MacBook laptops from the list of products that can be bought with public money because of security concerns, according to government officials familiar with the matter. This shouldn’t come as any surprise – as the government was likely the force behind getting China’s CCTV to get the ball rolling in starting a FUD campaign against Apple. They were the first to associate the iPhone with “national security” concerns. Even though Apple officially refuted such claims within 24 hours, it was irrelevant as this was really a government initiative. 

Next was getting the ever popular Blogchina, known locally as the “Father of Blogs in China” to jump in to support banning Apple products. In late July they published a report in the Global Times saying that “Apple iPhones should be banned by public officials.”

Today, Bloomberg reports that “Ten Apple products — including the iPad, iPad Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro — were omitted from a final government procurement list distributed in July, according to officials who read it and asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The models were on a June version of the list drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance, the officials said.