China

The People's Republic of China 🇨🇳 (中华人民共和国), also referred to as PRC or China (中国), is a nation in eastern Asia and the most populous in the world. Excluding Russia, it is the largest nation in Asia. The head of state since 2012 is Xi Jinping.

Description
The capital of the People's Republic of China is Beijing. On the mainland alone, its population has surpassed 1.3 billion people in early January 2005. The and 55 other minorities are officially recognised.

China currently administers 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions. The government claims the island of Taiwan as a 23rd province, along with the islands of (Quemoy), Lienchiang  and  (Pescadores Islands).

Apple in China
In mainland China, Apple has an office in Beijing, as well as additional offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other regions. Many Apple products, such as the iPhone are manufactured in the mainland. In the region, it has offices in Hong Kong and Taipei, where TSMC fabricates processors for Apple.

Apple Computer's first joint venture in China was announced on December 12, 1995 with Southern Software Park in to develop technologies for the PowerPC platform. In October 2009, the iPhone 3G and 3G S became the first iPhone models to be officially available for sale in mainland China through a deal between Apple and. The official models initially experienced soft sales due to imports of "cracked" overseas models with lower prices and Wi-Fi capability, which was banned in China at the time. However, some users still preferred the official models despite the higher cost as cracked iPhones would meet difficulty with software updates and online services, such as the App Store. In August 2010, the 8 GB model of the iPhone 3GS with Wi-Fi capabilities was introduced following the relaxation of the ban, followed by the iPhone 4 in September. iPhone sales improved as Apple entered into a deal with, the largest carrier in China, in December 2013, followed by the introduction of the larger iPhone 6 series in 2014.

In December 2021,  reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook had signed an investment agreement in 2016 worth an estimated $275 billion for China's economy in exchange for regulatory exemptions.

Apple Stores in China
As of 2022, there are 44 Apple retail stores in China. All were closed in February 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were reopened by March 13 as the outbreak in China was stated to be under control. On May 21, 2022, the 44th store in China, Apple Wuhan, was opened at Wuhan International Plaza within the of, the area of the original outbreak.

Macintosh user groups in China
There is one nationwide Macintosh user group in the mainland (MacFans China) and other regional groups. Cities with local user groups include:
 * Beijing — Beijing Macintosh Union, Beijing Macintosh User Group
 * Qingdao — Qingdao Apple User Group, Sinomac
 * Shanghai — AppleUnion, MacClub Shanghai

In the region, local user groups include:
 * Hong Kong — Hong Kong University Mac User Group, MACitizen
 * Taiwan

Major Mac websites in China
Included are major sites on the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and the Taiwan region.


 * Macfans.com.cn (Nationwide)
 * BeiMac (Beijing)
 * Beijing Apple House (Beijing)
 * MacWorld China (Beijing and Nationwide)
 * Sinomac (Qingdao)
 * uMac
 * eLesson (Shanghai)
 * MacClub (Shanghai)
 * iMacGuru (Hong Kong)
 * Frosty Place (Taiwan)