China bans the iPhone for government use
Tech war heats up as Beijing, Washington duel over chips, smartphones
Shares of Apple Inc. fell about 3.5 percent on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported Beijing had banned central government officials from using iPhones and other foreign-branded devices.
In recent weeks, Chinese officials were given the instructions by their superiors in workplace chat groups or meetings, the WSJ reported citing people familiar with the matter.
Apple leads in the high-end smartphone market in China, one of Appleās biggest consumer markets that generates about one fifth of its revenue.
Analysts said on Wednesday the move showed Beijing would not spare any US company in the governmentās push to reduce its dependence on American technology, the UK-based Guardian newspaper reported.
āEven Apple is not immune ā¦ in China where it employs hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million workers, to assemble its products through its relationship with Foxconn,ā DA Davidson analyst Tom Forte said.
This āshould inspire companies to diversify both their supply chain and customer concentrations to be less dependent on China in the event the tensions get worse.ā
US investigating new Huawei phone
The US government is seeking more information about the new Huawei Mate 60 Pro, a Chinese smartphone powered by an advanced chip.
The new flagship device, which reportedly includes a 5G processor developed specifically for Huawei, recently shocked industry experts who didnāt understand how the company would have the technology to make such a chip following sweeping US restrictions, according to CNN.
The US needs āmore information about precisely its character and compositionā to determine if parties bypassed American restrictions on semiconductor exports to create the new chip, a White House official said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission has asked US agencies to consider whether Chinese companies Quectel and Fibocom Wireless, which make remote devices, pose national security risks, according to a Reuters report.
āThe Republican chair of the House of Representatives China Select Committee, Mike Gallagher, and the top Democrat on the panel Raja Krishnamoorthi, asked the FCC last month to consider adding to its so-called āCovered Listā the two companies that produce cellular modules that enable internet of things (IoT) devices to connect to the internet.ā
Biden heads to New Delhi
President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to New Delhi, India, today for the G20 summit, where the US agenda will be substantially defined by efforts to compete with China for influence and trade among developing nations.
Biden will meet first with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. And the president will attend official sessions of the G20 summit over the weekend.
āAs the President heads to the G20, he is committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together. Thatās what we believe the world will see in New Delhi this weekend,ā National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a media briefing on August 5.
āThe United Statesā commitment to the G20 hasnāt wavered, and we hope this G20 Summit will show that the worldās major economies can work together even in challenging times.
āSo, as we head into New Delhi, our focus is going to be on delivering for developing countries; making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology; and showing our commitment to the G20 as a forum that can actually, as I said before, deliver.ā
The US delegation is urging G20 countries to expand the lending capacity of multilateral banks and provide financial accommodations for indebted nations. Bidenās team also plans to announce new US-backed infrastructure deals.
Biden to Hanoi
After the G20, Biden will travel to Vietnam on September 10 to meet with the General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnamās top leaders.
āBuilding on President Bidenās string of diplomatic successes in the Indo-Pacific just this year, this visit is a remarkable step in the strengthening of our diplomatic ties, and it reflects the leading role that Vietnam will play in our growing network of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific as we look to the future,ā Sullivan said.
While in Vietnam, Biden is expected to pay homage to the late John McCain who as a Navy pilot was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and held as a prisoner of war for five and half years. Later as a US senator, McCain was an advocate for normalizing US-Vietnam relations. He died in 2018.
Chinaās trade slumps
Beijing reported another monthly decline in imports and exports for the month of August, according to CNBC.
Exports fell 8.8 percent from the same month a year ago and imports fell by 7.3 percent. The declines were less than anticipated by economists polled by Reuters.
Chinaās economy is headed for trouble unless Beijing takes steps to stimulate the economy, Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman said in a New York Times audio commentary.
"China's an odd place ideologically. It's not actually a communist society by any normal measure," Krugman said. "On one side, they don't like to just give people money. They don't like people being financially independent, because they still want the government to be in control."
Worldwide demand for Chinese goods has waned in 2023 and Chinese consumer and industrial demand has slowed amid a lackluster reopening from major shutdowns during the COVID pandemic.
"China is facing a major economic crisis, and they've run to the limits of the things that's been doing to keep its economy afloat," Krugman said.
"Unless the Chinese government is willing to face up to the need to do something very different, then China is headed for a very nasty fall."
Blinken in Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Ukraine on September 5-6 where he announced a $1 billion US aid package and pledged Washingtonās continuing support in the war against Russia.
Blinkenās trip coincided with a Biden administration request to Congress for $24 bln in additional aid for Ukraine and other international needs through the end of 2023.
Just three hours before Blinken arrived in Kyiv on a train from Poland, Russia carried out airstrikes on the capital and the southern region of Odesa, according to the Voice of America.
No casualties were reported in Kyiv, but Ukrainian officials say a civilian was killed and port infrastructure damaged in the south. A Russian strike Wednesday on a market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka killed 17 people and wounded 32 others, according to Ukraineās Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko.
ā William Roberts