China is banning iPhone use in government agencies and stage companies

Apple's iPhones are no longer welcome in Chinese government agencies and state companies and the country looks set to make the ban even broader.

According to a Bloomberg report several agencies have already begun to tell staff that they can't bring iPhones to work. On top of that, China also wants toe to extend that to a whole whose of other government-controlled organizations according to unnamed sources who want to remain anonymous for obvious reasons.

The aim of the Chinese government is to ensure that as little foreign technology as possible in sensitive settings while China is also thought to be keen to reduce its reliance on American software. However, the move is a problematic one for Apple as it continues to focus on China as a key market. Bloomberg reports that China makes up about a fifth of the company's revenue. China is also a key location for Apple in terms of production with the majority of the iPhones ever sold having been made there.

Apple has historically had a strong relationship with the Chinese government. Bloomberg notes that's one reason that it was thought to be relatively safe from plans to remove US-based hardware and software from government settings. But things seem to be changing, with even Apple's hardware now finding itself on the outside of buildings that it would once have been right at home inside.

This also means that there will no doubt be Chinese buyers who won't be able to take their new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro handsets to work once they arrive later this month.