Nike to End Run Club App in China

Posts on the closing of the NRC app gathered more than 70,000 views on the Weibo social media platform, with many users sad to see the end of the service.

"I've been using the app for seven years, and it will discontinue like this," said one user.

"Every step I have run was recorded here," another Weibo user said, ending the post with three tearful emojis.

New tech laws see US companies fleeing Chinese market

Multiple US tech brands have ceased to offer or reduced services to users in mainland China in the past year, citing reasons from censorship to increasing compliance requirements.

China has put new curbs on internet companies in areas such as content and has also imposed new laws, such as one on personal information protection designed to protect users' data privacy.

In November last year, Yahoo pulled its services from China, citing an "increasingly challenging" operating environment.

A month prior, Microsoft pulled the plug on LinkedIn in China, marking the retreat of the last major US-owned social network in China.

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LinkedIn cited a "more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China".

The departures illustrate the choices companies face in a hugely profitable market, but one where they are required to censor content as China tightens its control on the industry.

Sources: ABC, Reuters