Chinese officials deny banning Apple products for government procurement

August 10, 2014

Earlier this week, a Bloomberg report claimed that the Chinese government excluded a number of Apple products, including the iPad, the iPad mini and a number of MacBooks from a government procurement list due to security concerns. Today, however, a new report out of Reuters, citing China's Central Government Procurement Centre as well as the finance ministry, revealed that the company never applied to be on that particular procurement list, which pertained to energy-saving products. According to a statement from the finance ministry:

Even though Apple has the certification for energy-saving products... it has never provided the necessary verification material and agreements according to the regulations.

The Central Government Procurement Centre clarified that Apple products can be purchased by the government even if they're not on the energy-saving list, as it is one of the many procurement lists in circulation. Further confusion was caused when several Apple products were delisted from the procurement website earlier this week. Chinese officials have since confirmed that the sales were halted for a monthly price adjustment.

Unnamed sources revealed to Reuters that the price adjustments were routine, and that "every month we have one price adjustment to make sure the prices are aligned with market prices."

What do you guys think of the Chinese government's statement?

Source: Reuters