[NicoJuicy]

Yes they ban foreign companies. All companies need a Chinese partnership to enter China.

Eg. Azure needs to let someone else handle the infrastructure there. The only exclusion i know of ( i think) is Tesla, because China is very interested in it's tech and for it's goal of EV dominance.

[trasz]

They don’t, there is plenty of western companies there. And yes, they need a local branch, same way non-US companies need US branch to conduct business there.

[NicoJuicy]

Sure, that's why someone else is handling Azure in China instead of Microsoft :)

[trasz]

American law forces all US-controlled companies to relay user data to various govern agencies without any real oversight. EU is protecting their citizens too.

Even US is doing the same, see TikTok.

[yorwba]

Telecommunication services are on the list of industries where foreign investment is restricted http://images.mofcom.gov.cn/www/202112/20211227175520952.pdf , irrespective of the laws in other countries.