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China has reportedly removed tech giants such as Apple and Intel from its approved state purchase lists.
In 2012 Cisco had 60 products on the Central Government Procurement Center’s (CGPC) list, but by late 2014 had none, reports Reuters.
Other tech brands removed from the list include McAfee and Citrix Systems. Overall, the number of approved foreigh tech brands fell by a third.
Some say China has dropped the vendors in favour of local brands, while others say it’s a response to the Snowden leak in 2013 and Western surveillance.
The procurement agency says there are several reasons for the move, including preferring local manufacturers because they provide more product guarantees than foreign rivals.
"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."
A Cisco spokesperson added: "We have previously acknowledged that geopolitical concerns have impacted our business in certain emerging markets."
Image source: Shutterstock (Beijing Apple Store)
