China Threatens to Add Apple, Other US Companies to 'Unreliable Entity List'

china flagChina could put Apple on an "unreliable entity list" alongside other U.S. companies, in a series of punitive countermeasures the country is prepared to take against U.S. moves to block shipments of semiconductors to Huawei, claimed a report over the weekend.

According to the Global Times, the Chinese government's mouthpiece, the list would be a first step toward launching a series of investigations and imposing restrictions on U.S. companies such as Apple, Qualcomm, and Cisco.

"China will take forceful countermeasures to protect its own legitimate rights," if the US moves forward with the plan to bar essential suppliers of chips, including Taiwan-based TSMC, from selling chips to the Chinese tech giant, the source told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

The measures include adding related US companies to China's "unreliable entity list," imposing restrictions on or launching investigations into US companies like Qualcomm, Cisco and Apple according to Chinese laws and regulations like Cybersecurity Review Measures and Anti-monopoly Law, and suspending airplane purchases from Boeing, said the source.

According to comments made last year by a Chinese ministry of commerce official, once a company is added to China's "unreliable entity list" it would face necessary legal and administrative measures and the Chinese public would also be warned against dealing with it to reduce risks.

Beijing's latest tit-for-tat threat comes after the U.S. commerce department announced rules last week that limit U.S. companies from supplying semiconductors, parts, and processor designs to Huawei and its affiliates. The rules also apply to third-parties if they know they will eventually be used in Huawei products.

The move prevents Taiwan-based TSMC from purchasing U.S. supplies for chips that are used in Huawei phones. Nikkei reported on Monday that TSMC has already moved to stop new orders from Huawei, although TSMC told Reuters the reports were "purely market rumor."

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: China

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

Hazmat401 Avatar
67 months ago
Apple is really in a tight spot here.... it’s time to bring manufacturing home... back to America
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clayj Avatar
67 months ago
Folks, the manufacturing does not ALL have to come "back" to the USA. (Much of it was never here in the first place.)

The important thing is that it NOT be in China. Move it to Taiwan, India, Mexico, central Europe, etc. If some comes to the US, that's great.

But we should no longer have to rely on China for ANYTHING. You didn't see the US relying on the Soviets for anything during the Cold War, did you?
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
67 months ago
We don’t need China. Let’s move away from them.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spyguy10709 Avatar
67 months ago

Apple is really in a tight spot here.... it’s time to bring manufacturing home... back to America
Every single time this topic comes up, there's some armchair president/CEO/quarterback that proclaims that US-manufacturing will solve Apple and America's woes.

Just *assembling* the iPhone is a menial task which will not provide good jobs. Relatively few laborers here in America put up with a high-quality, easy manufacturing jobs like putting automobiles together. Make that a precision (1/100ths of an inch), repetitive task? Yeah. No. Not when you can make more driving Uber, waiting tables, or working retail.

The entire smartphone supply chain from battery manufacturers, to display manufacturers, to the producers of the raw aluminum and steel are all located in Shenzhen, or across Asia (SK in the case of Samsung's AMOLED displays used in the Pro phones). Who, exactly, benefits from Apple shipping raw materials and components to have some American screw them together? Nobody.

Our economy moved away from manufacturing from the 1950s-present because it's low value, low skill work.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tridley68 Avatar
67 months ago
Time to tell China to take a hike break all ties with them and bring manufacturing back home to the states.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otternonsense Avatar
67 months ago
I hope that will convince Tim to quit the grovelling subservience just to coax the Chinese pockets and to also diversify Apple's supply chain.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)