"On July 10, Apple responded that "Apple has never allowed this... we strongly believe these rules are vital to the health of the Apple platform and carry enormous benefits for both consumers and developers.""
Except, Apple does allow it. For the WeChat app from China's Tencent:
CNET (2019): WeChat messaging app brings its own 'instant apps' storefront to iPhones and iPads
"This is a big deal because WeChat's catalog contains over one million apps, separately from the iOS App Store. Ordinarily, Apple would strictly prohibit such a practice -- for security reasons at least, if not for platform cohesion -- but if a western company wants to do business in China, concessions must be made."
https://download.cnet.com/news/wechat-messaging-app-brings-i...
The former head of App Review for Apple, Phillip Shoemaker, even said this week "WeChat's continued presence on iPhones amounts to a special exception":
Apple lets China's WeChat bypass its rules, former app review chief claims https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/08/15/apple-chin...
If we've reached the point that former Apple executives could be testifying on behalf of Epic... wow, this got really interesting really quickly.