The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Chinese government has ordered officials at central government agencies to stop using 's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhones for work and to stop bringing the devices into offices. While the direct impact on Apple's sales will likely be minimal, the effects of this ban could reverberate and put a big chunk of Apple's China-derived revenue in jeopardy.

The U.S. has imposed an array of sanctions on China, partly in an effort to restrict access to the most advanced semiconductor technology. Artificial intelligence is a particular area of focus. NVIDIA, the leader in the AI accelerator market, faces limits on what chips it can sell within China.

China has taken some steps that appear to be retaliatory. In May, China banned critical information infrastructure operators from using memory chips made by Micron (NASDAQ: MU) because of cybersecurity concerns. The move to restrict iPhone usage in central government facilities appears to be along the same lines.

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Source Fool.com