Amazon To Shut Down Kindle Bookstore In China

(RTTNews) - Amazon announced plans to shut down its Kindle e-book store in China next year, thus becoming the latest US company to scale back operations in the Asian country.

The company has stopped supplying Kindle e-readers to local retailers, and plans to close its digital bookstore in the country on June 30th, 2023. Chinese users will be able to download previously purchased e-books until June 30, 2024, and continue to read them after that, Amazon said.

Meanwhile, Amazon will still provide warranty service and other help for Kindle e-readers, and will accept returns for "non-quality issues" for any device bought after January 1st, 2022.

"Amazon's long-term development commitment in China will not change," Amazon said in a Weibo post. "We have established an extensive business base in China and will continue to innovate and invest."

Amazon isn't the only American company that has scaled back its operations in China. Tech giants like Airbnb, LinkedIn and Yahoo have all limited services or exited form the country, due to increased competition or stringent internet censorship.