China has withdrawn its endorsement for Facebook Inc’s plan to run a new venture in the eastern province of Zhejiang, reports The New York Times.
According to checks made by Reuters, A Chinese government database showed that Facebook had gained approval to open a subsidiary, but the registration has since disappeared.
Facebook has been struggling for a long time to gain a foothold in China, the most populous country in the world, where its website and messaging app Whatsapp remain blocked.
The internal Chinese politics is the main hurdle rather than the Facebook and China,” said Gary Rieschel, a longtime venture investor in China and founder and managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners. “The central Cyberspace Administration of China regulators were miffed they were not consulted more thoroughly by the Zhejiang authorities prior to approval.”
Rieschel added, the step to enter into China is not a new thing for U.S. tech firm
China strictly prohibits foreign news outlets, search engines and social media including content from Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google.