Apple Inc. shares tumbled more than 2% Monday morning after a Chinese court ordered the company to stop selling older iPhone models in the country that violate patents belonging to chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.

Qualcomm said in a statement that the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court granted a preliminary order banning Apple’s import and sale of older models ranging from the iPhone 6S to the iPhone X, saying that Apple infringed on two patents held by Qualcomm.

However, Apple said all of its iPhone models remain on sale in China.

"Qualcomm's effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world," Apple said in a statement. “We will pursue all our legal options through the courts.”

The episode is the latest clash between the two tech giants over long-running intellectual property disputes. It is the first court order issued in China that seeks to curtail iPhone sales.

Qualcomm has brought more than a dozen cases against Apple over patent infringement in China. The San Diego chip company said in the Monday statement that “additional actions seeking similar relief for Apple’s infringement of other Qualcomm patents are pending in China and other jurisdictions around the world.”