Apple Ipad tablet
IN PHOTO: An illustration picture shows application icons on an Apple Ipad tablet held by a woman in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, February 4, 2013. Reuters

A report has recently circulated that China has banned the use of Apple devices such as iPads and Macbooks in government. The Chinese government had allegedly excluded Apple from its list of authorised products for official use due to security concerns.

In a Bloomberg report, government officials who requested not to be identified revealed that China may have discontinued the procurement of ten Apple products. The items have been allegedly removed from a list distributed in July.

Chinese officials reportedly said the iPad, iPad Mini, Macbook Air and Macbook Pro were still among the June version of the list prepared by the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance.

However, a day after the reports were published, the Chinese government refuted the claims and told Reuters that it did not ban Apple products on its procurement list. Authorities said the tech giant had "failed" to submit necessary documents to prove its iPads and Macbooks meet China's standards for energy efficiency.

Apple Inc. only said it did not apply to be on China's procurement list. The company had declined to elaborate on the matter, according to Reuters.

If the reports turned out to be true, Apple Inc would have been latest tech company from the U.S. to be banned by the Chinese government amid tension rising between countries due to spying and hacking accusations. China's procurement agency has declared it will stop buying antivirus software from Kaspersky Lab and Symantec Corp. Microsoft Corp. was also excluded in China when it considered other options in buying energy-efficient computers.

Before China denied the claims, Hongkong analyst Mark Po from UOB Kay Hian Ltd had previously said the Chinese government may be sending "signals" to corporations and semi-government bodies to stop using the products they have discontinued. He added that the Chinese government may be working on reducing the influence of international companies in the country.

Apple tops global PC market

Meanwhile, the Cupertino-based tech giant has led the global PC market with a 14 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, according to Canalys. The research firm reported that worldwide tablet shipments dropped by 5 per cent or to 48.4 million units in Q2 FY 2014.

The report said Apple and Samsung also suffered drops in tablet shipments which allowed traditional computer manufacturers like Lenovo and Dell to step up. Analysts believe the PC market will regain stability since tablets first disrupted the market almost four years ago.

Apple may have something up its sleeve when it partnered with IBM to sell more iPads in the enterprise segment. The company is rumoured to be releasing an iPad Pro in late 2014 to boost its iPad sales. More news of this development when Apple holds its iPhone 6 launch on September 9.