The ban comes ahead of an Apple event next week that analysts believe will be about launching a new line of iPhones, and could trigger concern among foreign companies operating in China as Sino-US tensions escalate.
In August 2022, then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan dealt a serious blow to the already deteriorating Sino-US relations. And although the meeting between the two countries' leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022 raised some hopes of bilateral ties returning to the normal track, Sino-US relations continue to deteriorate with the level of official exchanges falling to a historical low.