China on Wednesday made its first public feedback about studies that the federal government is proscribing using Apple’s iPhones by some state workers, saying that Beijing had famous what it claimed had been safety issues concerning the gadget.

The feedback by Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the International Ministry, had been brief on particulars. She pointed to what she described as “media studies” about safety flaws within the iPhone, with out elaborating.

She additionally stated China had not printed “any legislation, regulation or coverage doc” banning the acquisition or use of overseas cellphones, together with these made by Apple.

The feedback come after some workers of presidency businesses have stated they’ve had been advised to not use iPhones for work. Notices issued to authorities workers and state-owned companies, calling for utilization of home manufacturers of cellphones, have additionally been circulating on-line. China’s normally strict web censors have but to delete claims concerning the restrictions.

The corporate’s inventory worth initially fell following the studies, which had urged that Apple might lose floor in China, the world’s largest smartphone market.

Calling for curbs on using overseas expertise by authorities workers isn’t new. China has discouraged officers from adopting overseas cellphones for at the very least a decade and advised authorities businesses to exchange American pc servers and different units with home ones.

America has additionally positioned restrictions on China’s telecommunications large, Huawei, and issued controls on exports of superior U.S. semiconductor expertise to China. Some U.S. states have moved to prohibit using TikTok, the social media app, by authorities workers.

The White Home nationwide safety spokesman, John F. Kirby, stated on Wednesday that the U.S. authorities was “watching” the difficulty and known as on China “to be extra clear about what they’re seeing and what they’re doing.”

Any main issues for Apple in China would sign an escalation within the tensions between Beijing and Washington. The American expertise large counts on China for roughly 20 % of its income and far of its manufacturing, which helps a whole lot of hundreds of native jobs.

Smartphones symbolize the most recent salvo within the U.S.-China tech struggle after the launch final week of Huawei’s Mate 60 Professional. Chinese language nationalists celebrated the cellphone’s superior options as an indication that China had developed its personal chips, however the gadget is now the goal of a U.S. assessment into whether or not it violates the embargo on U.S. semiconductor expertise imposed by the Biden administration.

Apple has not stated something publicly concerning the current studies. At an occasion in California on Tuesday, the corporate unveiled the iPhone 15, its latest mannequin.

Olivia Wang and Zach Montague contributed reporting.