China regulator approves Apple's iPhone 6 for sale in China

By Paul Carsten

BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple Inc's iPhone 6 can now be sold in China, after the firm received a licence for the device to be used on China's wireless networks.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on its website on Tuesday that it had approved the iPhone 6 after Apple addressed potential security risks that could allow personal data to leak.

The iPhone 6 had been released in other countries, including the United States, on September 19 but Apple did not give a release data for China.

The approval paves the way for Apple to sell the iPhone 6 in China, the world's largest smartphone market and one of Apple's biggest for iPhone sales. Analysts expect the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to sell well in China, where many people prefer phones with larger screens.

The MIIT said it had conducted "rigorous security testing" on the iPhone 6, and that it had held talks with Apple on the issue. Apple also shared with the ministry materials related to the potential security issues, which it said were related to diagnostic tools, the statement said.

Apple sold a record 10 million units of the iPhone 6 models in the first weekend after their launch, which excluded China. Last year, the U.S. tech firm sold 9 million iPhone 5S and 5C models in 11 countries, including China, in the same period.

Apple was not available for immediate comment.

(Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Miral Fahmy)