The two Apple services have been barred, following stricter anti-American stance by China President Xi Jingping.
According to a report by the New York Times, the Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Film, and Television has shut down Apple's iBooks and iTunes Movies services in the country. Users in China have not been alble to access both iBooks and iTunes Movies since last week.
Apple had been granted permission to start these services in China earlier, but with the press administration stepping in, these services have now been barred. Confirming the shut down, Apple said, "We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible."
Apple iBooks allows users to download and read select book titles across Apple devices, while iTunes Movies allows them to pay and view select movie titles across genres & languages.
The NYT report goes on to describe a recent meeting on China's Internet policies held between China President Xi Jingping and leaders of Chinese tech companies including Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei. Reports about the meeting suggest that Xi wants decreased influence of American companies like Apple in the country, and wants to promote homegrown companies instead.
Source: NYT, 9to5 Mac
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