Logo 13 Mar 2026

Apple cuts App Store commissions in China

Subscribe to keep reading.

Sign up to stay briefed on what the Chinese government is doing, thinking, and saying.

Try it free

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Apple has finally lowered its Apple Tax in China.  On March 12, Apple announced that after discussions with Chinese regulators, it will lower App Store commissions in mainland China starting March 15. ICYDK: The “Apple Tax” is the commission Apple takes when developers sell paid apps or digital good...



More recent developments

Logo March 13, 2026
USTR initiates Section 301 forced labor probe

Not another probe. On March 12, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) launched a new Section 301 probe against 60 countries, including China, to determine if they had failed to prevent the import of products made with forced… Read More »

Logo March 13, 2026
Xi Jinping presses officials on advancing “common prosperity”

Rising inequality and structural unemployment are keeping Xi Jinping up at night. During a breakout session with the Jiangsu legislative delegation on March 5, China's big boss posed three difficult policy questions: "Under the impact of a new wave of… Read More »

Logo March 13, 2026
New ethnic unity law codifies assimilationist policy

Xi Jinping wants more 你好 and less Tashi Delek. At the conclusion of its annual session on March 12, the legislature (NPC) passed the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law. No surprise: The law codifies the assimilationist policies that Xi… Read More »