iCloud to be offered with local Chinese firm

Jul 13, 2017 05:37 GMT  ·  By

Just like all the other technology companies, Apple is trying to make the most of the ever-growing Chinese market, so today the firm announced the opening of a local data center that would make iCloud available to users in the country.

The new data center will be located in Guizhou and as per the country’s regulations, Apple formed a joined venture with a domestic company in order to offer services to Chinese users.

The partnership with state-owned Guizhou-Cloud Big Data helps Apple comply with new regulations that were adopted in 2016 and which require overseas companies to form joint ventures with Chinese firms should they want to offer cloud services in the country.

This is an approach that has been used by China in a wide variety of industry sectors, including in the automotive market where all companies manufacturing cars in the country were forced to sign partnerships with local firms.

No backdoors

Aware that a Chinese data center would raise concerns over user privacy, Apple says that it’s fully committed to protecting data, pledging not to embed any backdoor into its systems and to embrace an approach that aligns with what the company is doing in the other markets across the world.

“In partnership with a local internet services company, Guizhou on the Cloud Big Data, we’re proud of the fact the facility will be fully powered by 100 percent renewable energy like all of our other data centers around the world,” the company was quoted as saying.

"Our Chinese customers love using iCloud to store their photos, videos, documents and apps securely, and to keep them updated across all of their devices. We're committed to continuously improving the user experience, and the addition of this data center will allow us to improve the speed and reliability of our products and services while also complying with newly passed regulations.”

Apple sales in China are declining, with the company revealing a drop of 14 percent from last year to $10.7 billion in the March quarter and 34 percent from the previous quarter.