China has dropped Apple and other American companies from its approved state purchase lists, while adding thousands of locally made products, reports Reuters.
Chief casualty is U.S. network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O), which in 2012 counted 60 products on the Central Government Procurement Center's (CGPC) list, but by late 2014 had none, a Reuters analysis of official data shows. Smartphone and PC maker Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has also been dropped over the period, along with Intel Corp's (INTC.O) security software firm McAfee and network and server software firm Citrix Systems (CTXS.O).
The number of approved products on the list has jumped by over 2,000 to just under 5,000 in two years. However, the number of approved foreign tech brands dropped by a third.
It's believed that the number of foreign approved products is down due to concerns over widespread Western cybersurveillance. An official at the agency said that local makers may be preferred due to the sheer weight of numbers and that they offer more product guarantees that overseas rivals.
Recently, it was reported that Apple agreed to allow China’s State Internet Information Office to run security audits on the products it sells in China. The country is apparently concerned that other governments are using Apple's devices for surveillance.
"The Snowden incident, it's become a real concern, especially for top leaders," said Tu Xinquan, Associate Director of the China Institute of WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. "In some sense the American government has some responsibility for that; (China's) concerns have some legitimacy."
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