China’s Apple iPhone ban appears to be retaliation, says US White House

The White House said it believes China’s moves to institute and expand a government ban on iPhones is an attempt to retaliate against the US as it weighed in for the first time on the backlash against Apple Inc.

“We’re watching this with concern, clearly. It seems to be of a piece — of the kinds of aggressive and inappropriate retaliation to US companies that we’ve seen from the PRC in the past. That’s what this appears to be,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday, referring to the People’s Republic of China.