Apple and the Chinese Government have rejected reports that the iPhone maker’s devices have been barred from government procurement in the country.
The denial came after Bloomberg’s report last week, which stated that China had banned Apple’s iPad and Mac from government purchasing over issues related to security.
Referring to ‘government officials familiar with the matter,’ the news agency reported that the products under consideration were on a government procurement list in June, while they were not added to the list in July.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Chinese news site Caixin cited sources on China’s Ministry of Finance as saying that Apple purely ignored to apply for inclusion in the procurement list, which is actually targeted at energy-saving products.
Reuters quoted the Finance Ministry as saying: "Even though Apple has the certification for energy-saving products…it has never provided the necessary verification material and agreements according to the regulations."
However, the China Central Government Procurement Centre website noted that Apple devices can still be procured by Chinese Government agencies despite some of its products not being added in the energy-saving list.
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These rumours arouse in the midst of Chinese regulators’ launch of an anti-monopoly investigation into Microsoft following plans to bar Microsoft’s Windows 8 OS over security concerns, while delisted firms also include anti-virus software vendors Symantec and Kaspersky Lab.
