Amazon.com will close its official app store in China in July, marking the company’s latest exit from the Chinese market. The Amazon Appstore, which was introduced in 2011 as a competitor to Google enabling Android phone users to download apps and games, would be “discontinued.” Amazon’s official retail site Amazon.cn, as well as other services such as Amazon Global Selling, Amazon Global Store, and cloud subsidiary Amazon Web Services (AWS), will stay operating. Due to Beijing’s tightening restrictions governing data and privacy safeguards, as well as severe competition from domestic competitors, the Chinese internet service industry has become increasingly tough for international enterprises. However, Amazon’s Appstore may still be accessed without a VPN in mainland China, while restricted US apps such as Facebook and Twitter are not available.
LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned site for job searchers and recruiters, said earlier this month that it was closing the app it debuted in China less than two years ago, thus terminating the company’s last social media presence in the nation. Amazon stated last year that its Kindle e-book service would be discontinued in China on June 30 of this year. Amazon has struggled with its Chinese commercial operations since moving into China in 2004, particularly its main e-commerce and cloud activities. In 2019, the US company discontinued supporting third-party merchants in the domestic market. Amazon is the 12th most popular e-commerce site in China, trailing the top three, Taobao, JD.com, and the short video app Douyin.
