Apple removes thousands of games from the Chinese App Store

> Apple pulled more than 47,000 apps from the Chinese App Store earlier this month, as first reported by AppInChina. That move wasn’t unexpected, as Apple recently enacted 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.

> But Apple’s entire App Store operation in China also depends on a loophole of its own, the report claims. Foreign app stores in China are usually required to be joint ventures with a Chinese partner that’s a majority owner and operator, according to the report, but Apple operates the App Store on its own. Apple has also apparently avoided sharing the source code for iOS with China so far, having negotiated an exemption with the Chinese government to not have to do so.