Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, has decided to suspend its App Store service in China. Following the suspension of sales of the e-book reader ‘Kindle’ in June of last year, the company decided to step out of China again. Analysts say that Amazon’s failure to adapt to the Chinese market is largely due to the growing tension between the US and China.
According to Chinese media outlets such as Pengpai and Tengxunwang on the 24th, Amazon China announced that it would suspend the App Store service from July 17 through an email sent to Chinese customers the day before. It has been 12 years since the service started in 2011. Pengpai analyzed that “Amazon App Store has fallen far behind in competition with native Chinese companies.
Some analysts say that the Chinese government’s tightening of regulations on information technology (IT) companies also had an impact. Chinese authorities are strengthening regulations on IT companies that handle personal information for reasons such as national security. This is the reason why Didi Chuxing, which is called the Chinese version of Uber, was blocked from going public in the United States. In addition, China is conducting more blatant surveillance of American companies as the conflict between the United States and China intensifies. In March, Chinese security authorities raided the Beijing office of an American consulting firm and arrested three of its employees.
As pressure on US companies from China grows, more US companies are leaving the Chinese market. Google suspended its translation app service in China in October of last year, five years after its launch. Microsoft (MS) professional networking social media ‘Linkedin’ and lodging sharing service ‘Airbnb’ have also suspended business in China. American fashion brands ‘GAP’, ‘American Eagle’ and ‘Forever 21’ also sold their businesses.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.