Tensions between China and the United States have led to the removal of thousands of apps from Apple’s China App Store, putting millions of its users and the company’s manufacturing operations at risk.
A recent report said that China may have been closing the loopholes of previous years by Apple, which resulted in the recent removal of applications from the Chinese App Store.
According to the report, this move could be detrimental to the company’s operations in China in the future.
Earlier this month, Apple removed more than 47,000 applications from its Chinese App Store, according to The Verge.
The change was first reported by App in China, which said the move was not unexpected as Apple recently changed its policy to eliminate a loophole.
This error allowed games to be sold pending the approval of Chinese regulators.
This is not the first time that Apple has changed its services in China. Earlier, in April 2016, Chinese regulators forced Apple to close the iBook store and iTunes Movies.
Chinese regulators did so just six months after the launch of these stores in the country.
According to the report, foreign app stores in China usually require a joint venture with a Chinese partner who is also the majority owner and operator.
However, Apple also operates its own app store in China.
In addition, Apple has apparently so far refrained from sharing source code with China for the IOC and has negotiated an exemption with the Chinese government.
The Trump administration has recently taken action against Chinese technology companies, making it more difficult for some of them to do business in the United States.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump issued a decree banning Chinese tech giants Bite Dance and Tencent’s apps TickTalk and WeChat.
At the same time, the Trump administration has tightened sanctions on Chinese mobile company Huawei.