The Chinese became rather arsey after US speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi's visited Taiwan. For those who came in late, China thinks that Taiwan is a rebel province and gets rather cross when it gets any recognition. 

Nikkei Asia said that Apple "has asked suppliers to ensure that shipments from Taiwan to China strictly comply with Chinese customs regulations. The company told suppliers  that China "has started strictly enforcing a long-standing rule that Taiwanese-made parts and components must be labeled as being made either in "Taiwan, China" or "Chinese Taipei."

Any labeling such as "Made in Taiwan" or other words could cause big hold-ups or fines, or even see shipments sent back.

iPhone manufacturer Pegatron had seen components held by customs officials over the issue following Nancy Pelosi's diplomatic visit to the island this week. Pelosi met with execs from the company and other chipmakers including TSMC, which supplies all of Apple's best iPhones with their A-series processors including the A16 for the upcoming iPhone 14.

Nikkei reports that "Apple has also told suppliers to form contingency plans or quickly review and amend their labels on cartons and forms for shipments from Taiwan to China, if necessary" to avoid "any shipping chaos" and further supply chain disruptions.

It was unclear from the earlier report if Apple was affected by the events, however, it is now certain that Apple is at least worried about the possible impact on its supply chain ahead of iPhone 14.

Pegatron today denied that its components had been held by Chinese customs officials.