App stores must register with state: China

This photo illustration taken on January 5, 2017 in Beijing shows a user posing with an iPhone showing an installed New York Times app on the device. Apple has removed the New York Times from its China app store, the tech giant said, after authorities told the company the app breached regulations. / AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR

SHANGHAI: App stores in China must register with the state from Jan 16, a government statement said, as China tightens its control over the Internet. 

App stores are “not strict” when they examine and approve apps, the China Cyberspace Administration, the country’s Internet watchdog, said in a statement.