According to New report, Amazon has ceased providing Kindle e-readers to Chinese shops and will shut down the country’s Kindle ebook store, citing a post on the company’s WeChat account. Users will no longer be able to purchase digital Kindle books in China starting June 30th, 2023, and Amazon’s Kindle app will be removed from Chinese app stores one year later.
Current users, on the other hand, will be able to download titles purchased in the past until June 2024, after which they will be allowed to continue working but without the cloud backup. According to Reuters, the change has nothing to do with government pressure or censorship. Amazon, on the other hand, claims to be shifting its strategic focus. Other companies of the company in the country, like as e-commerce, cloud, and advertising services, will continue to operate.
“We remain committed to our customers in China. As a global business, we periodically evaluate our offerings and make adjustments, wherever we operate,” an Amazon spokesperson told. “With our portfolio of businesses in China, we will continue to innovate and invest where we can provide value to our customers.”
Amazon is one of a few Western tech companies that has recently reduced its presence in China. Airbnb suspended its listings in China last week because to a drop in business caused by China’s protracted COVID quarantine and high prices exacerbated by the pandemic. The company’s Beijing office, on the other hand, will remain open and will focus on outbound travel.
Meanwhile, Yahoo pulled its services out of China in November, less than a month after Microsoft-owned LinkedIn shut down its local platform in the country. Both cited the country’s “challenging operating environment” and heightened compliance standards, with LinkedIn citing the “tough operating environment” and increased compliance requirements.