China bans Apple products from government purchases: Bloomberg

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has prohibited government agencies from purchasing Apple Inc hardware products due to security concerns, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing government officials familiar with the matter. Ten Apple products including versions of the iPad tablet and MacBook laptop have been omitted from a government procurement list distributed by China's National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance, Bloomberg News said. They were included in a June draft, according to the report. The ban would apply to all central and local agencies in China, Bloomberg News said. Reuters could not immediately reach officials at the NDRC and finance ministry for comment. Apple spokespeople in China did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The report comes after the Chinese government published a software procurement list last week that excluded foreign anti-virus vendors like Kaspersky Lab and Symantec Corp, which had previously sold software to Chinese agencies. China, citing security concerns, has increasingly sought to limit the use of U.S. technology over the past year following revelations by Edward Snowden of widespread U.S. government spying. State-run China Central Television said in a report in June that location-tracking software on Apple's iPhone could potentially lead to the disclosure of state secrets. Apple said in response that it has never allowed and will never allow governments access to its servers. (Reporting by Gerry Shih; Editing by Ryan Woo)