According to the New York Times, officials from the Trump administration and Congress are scrutinizing the contract between Apple and Alibaba.
The NYT says White House officials and members of China’s House Selection Committee have asked Apple executives about the deal directly, citing an anonymous source. Executives reportedly were unable to answer most of these questions.
In a statement, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ranking Democrat of the House Permanent Intelligence Committee) described Alibaba as “the poster child of the Chinese Communist Party’s military party fusion strategy,” saying Apple “had no transparency about consent.”
This transaction itself is only published by Alibaba, not by Alping. This is far from the only challenge that will raise tensions between the US and China, and is presented to iPhone manufacturers’ businesses.