No eavesdropping pledge over iPhone 6

The announcement reflects Chinese unease about the reliability of foreign communications technology following disclosures about widespread US government eavesdropping.

Apple said the phones will go on sale on October 17 in China, one of the company’s biggest global markets.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said approval was granted after Apple “promised ‘it never constructed a so-called ‘backdoor’ for any government entity of any country in any product or service’, and moreover ‘never will’.”