Upon orders from Beijing, Apple removed the applications WhatsApp and Threads from its own app store in China, due to concerns related to Chinese national security.
An Apple spokesperson told CNN American on Friday: "We are committed to following the laws in the countries we operate in, even when we disagree."
He added: "The Chinese cyberspace administration ordered the removal of these applications from the electronic store in China due to concerns related to national security. These applications remain available for download on all electronic stores in other countries".
It is worth mentioning that the two applications owned by "Meta" company were already banned in China and were not widely used.
With the decision to remove it from electronic stores, this marked the official end of "WhatsApp" in China in 2024.
Duncan Clark, Chairman of BDA China, an investment consulting firm based in Beijing, told CNN that the removal of apps by Apple represents 'expanding the distance between separate worlds of technology in China and the Western world.'
Apple suffered a major blow in China, where its sales declined by 10 percent in the first quarter of 2024, as citizens turned to buying locally made phones, such as Huawei and Oppo.