Around £160billion has been wiped off the value of Apple following reports that China has banned government officials from using iPhones at work.
Apple's share price dropped by nearly 3% yesterday, marking a second day of sharp falls after the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese authorities had banned officials from using the company's smartphones.
The California-headquartered company's share price has now fallen about 7% since Tuesday.
Restrictions on using iPhones within the Chinese government follows years of tightening trade sanctions and bans from the US and its allies, including the UK, on the use of Chinese technology amid national-security concerns.
US Representative Mike Gallagher accused China of unfairly punishing Western businesses in an effort to promote local competitors.
He said: "This is textbook Chinese Communist Party (CCP) behaviour - promote PRC (People's Republic of China) national champions in telecommunications, and slowly squeeze Western companies' market access.
Clock ticking
"American tech companies seeking to cosy up to the CCP must realise the clock is ticking."
The Telegraph says the crackdown threatens to hit Apple's wider business, which generates 19% of its annual revenue from China.
Curbs come as global demand for new smartphones slumps. Sales have dropped to their lowest point in a decade as China's stalling economy has hit consumer spending.
Apple is also facing its longest smartphone sales slump since 2016. The company is hoping to revive demand with the launch of its new iPhone 15 next week.
- At the end of August, Chinese telecoms giant Huawei announced it was launching a new smartphone - one that appeared to make a mockery of US sanctions.
Containing high-tech chips previously thought to be beyond China's capabilities, the Mate 60 Pro represents a stunning leap that Donald Trump and Joe Biden's administrations have spent years trying to prevent.
The Telegraph says that Huawei's new phone and its main chip has prompted Chinese state media outlets to brag that America's policy of "extreme suppression has failed".
Experts in Washington now fret that Beijing's efforts to develop its own advanced technology will allow China to make significant leaps forward when it comes to advanced weaponry and artificial intelligence - an area seen as a key battleground for both cybersecurity and information warfare.
FTSE 100
The UK's top share index, the FTSE 100, was up 18 points at 7,459 shortly after opening this morning, following yesterday's 15-point rise.
Brent crude futures were down 0.29% at $89.63 a barrel.
Companies reporting today
- Half-year results: Computacenter
- Trading update: Berkeley Group