[ad_1]
As tensions mount between the United States and China, Apple’s Chinese operations – which include millions of Apple customers and much of the company’s manufacturing operations – could be at risk. A new report in Information argues that China may already be closing the loopholes that Apple exploited in previous years, starting with the recent removal of thousands of apps from the Chinese App Store. This could potentially create problems for the future of the business in the country.
Apple removed more than 47,000 apps from the Chinese App Store earlier this month, as AppInChina first reported. The move was not unexpected, as Apple recently adopted a policy change to eliminate a loophole that previously allowed paid games and games with in-app purchases to be sold, even though they were still awaiting approval from Chinese regulators.
It was also not the first time that Apple had been armed to make significant changes to its services in China. For example, Chinese regulators forced Apple to shut down the iBookstore and iTunes Movies in China in April 2016, just six months after Apple launched those stores in the country.
But Apple’s entire App Store operation in China also hinges on a loophole of its own, the report claims. According to the report, foreign app stores in China generally have to be joint ventures with a Chinese partner who owns and majority operates, but Apple alone operates the App Store. Apple has also apparently avoided sharing iOS source code with China until now, having negotiated an exemption with the Chinese government not to have to.
Recently, the Trump administration has taken significant action against Chinese tech companies, making it more difficult for some to do business in the United States. President Trump issued executive orders earlier this month that would ban TikTok and WeChat, owned by Chinese tech giants ByteDance and Tencent, in the United States. The Trump administration has also tightened restrictions on Chinese phone maker Huawei.
[ad_2]
Source link