Apple was ordered to shut down its iTunes movie and books stores in the country last week after seven months of operation. China is the second-largest market for Apple in terms of revenue.

Apple stated that it hopes to reinstate its books and music sales in the country, but did not provide any timeline. According to the New York Times, the closedown order was passed by China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television.

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Lately, Apple had smooth running in China as it launched Apple Pay in the country. It collaborated with UnionPay for this purpose, China's state-run interbank network. The latest debacle is not likely to have much negative impact on the company's topline but it may be a harbinger of things to come.

The move may help China in providing impetus to its domestic companies. It has been reported that Apple's advent in the country has caused homegrown companies such as Huawei to suffer demand loss and higher competition.

New York Times added that China is likely to impose restrictions to seven more multinational companies for being "too deeply established in the country's core industries." The list is said to include major corporations such as Microsoft and IBM.

Apple spent a lot of time and effort to gain foothold in the growing Chinese market. The company spent a considerable time in reaching agreement with China Mobile, the largest telecom carrier in the country, for distributing iPhones in the mainland.

Tagsapple, iTunes, iPhone, iBooks