As tensions escalate between the U.S. and China, Apple’s Chinese operations – which include millions of Apple customers and much of the company’s manufacturing staff – would be at risk. A new report in The information states that China may have closed the loopholes already in previous years by Apple, starting with the recent removal of thousands of apps from the Chinese App Store. That could potentially pose problems for the future of the company in the country.
Apple pulled more than 47,000 apps from the Chinese App Store earlier this month, as first reported by AppInChina. That move was not unexpected, as Apple recently introduced a policy change to remove a shot that would allow previously paid games and games with in-app purchases to be sold, although they are still awaiting approval from Chinese regulators.
This was not the first time that Apple was heavily armed in making 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 depends on its own shot in the road, the report claims. Foreign app stores in China are normally required to be joint ventures with a Chinese partner who is a majority owner and operator, according to the report, but Apple operates the App Store on its own. Apple has apparently also avoided sharing the source code for iOS with China so far, after negotiating an exemption with the Chinese government not to increase it.
Recently, the Trump administration has taken major action against Chinese tech companies, making it harder for some to do business in the US. President Trump earlier this month issued executive orders banning TikTok and WeChat, owned by Chinese tech giants ByteDance and Tencent, in the US. The Trump administration also has strict restrictions on Chinese phone maker Huawei.
