China

Grand opening of the Apple Store in Shanghai in January 2010.

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 Han Chinese 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 Kinmen (Quemoy), Lienchiang (Matsu Islands) and Penghu (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 Greater China 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 Zhuhai to develop technologies for the PowerPC platform.

Formal Debut in China for iPhone

In October 2009, the iPhone 3G and 3GS became the first iPhone models to be officially available for sale in mainland China through a deal between Apple and China Unicom. The official models initially experienced soft sales due to grey market 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 China Mobile, the largest carrier in China, in December 2013, followed by the introduction of the larger iPhone 6 series in 2014.

In December 2021, The Information 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

Apple Store in Shanghai in 2020.

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 Jianghan District of Wuhan, 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 Greater China 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 (Dalian)
• eLesson (Shanghai)
• MacClub (Shanghai)
• iMacGuru (Hong Kong)
• Frosty Place (Taiwan)

External links

• Apple (中国大陆) - 官方网站 official Mainland China website
  • Apple Store 零售店，中国大陆
  • Apple at Youku
  • China at Apple Asia (archived 1996-10-29)
• China at Wikipedia

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