Rule: AI Service References for China Storefront

Guideline: 5 – Legal (Chinese DST Regulations)
Severity: REJECTION
Category: metadata

What to Check

Apps distributed on the China mainland storefront must not reference AI services that lack the required Chinese government permits (MIIT license). This applies to both metadata and in-app functionality.

Banned Terms (China Storefront)

ChatGPT, GPT-4, GPT-4o, GPT
OpenAI
Gemini (Google), Bard
Claude, Anthropic
Midjourney, DALL-E, DALL·E
Copilot (in AI context)
Stable Diffusion (when referencing cloud API)
Any deep synthesis technology (DST) service without a Chinese MIIT license

Metadata Fields to Check

App name
Subtitle
Promotional text
App description
Keywords
Screenshots (text overlays)
What's New

How to Detect

Using asc CLI

# Pull canonical metadata for all locales in the version under review
asc metadata pull --app "<APP_ID>" --version "<VERSION>" --dir ./metadata

# Check Chinese locale specifically
grep -i "chatgpt\|openai\|gpt-4\|gemini\|claude\|anthropic\|midjourney\|dall-e\|copilot\|bard" \
  ./metadata/app-info/zh-Hans.json ./metadata/version/<VERSION>/zh-Hans.json 2>/dev/null

Check all locales (Apple reviews all, not just zh-Hans)

# Apple may flag ANY locale if the app is distributed in China
grep -ri "chatgpt\|openai\|gpt-4\|gemini\|claude\|anthropic\|midjourney\|dall-e" \
  ./metadata/app-info/ ./metadata/version/<VERSION>/

Check storefront availability

Verify whether China mainland is included in the app's availability settings in App Store Connect.

Resolution

Option A: Remove references (keep China distribution)

Remove all AI service brand names from metadata across all locales
Use generic terms: "AI-powered" or "smart assistant" instead of brand names
Suppress AI functionality specifically for the China storefront build
Update Review Notes to confirm AI functionality is suppressed in China

Option B: Exclude China storefront

In App Store Connect → Pricing and Availability → Deselect "China mainland"
Keep AI references in metadata for all other storefronts

Option C: Obtain compliance

Seek professional advice on compliance with the Administrative Provisions on Deep Synthesis of Internet-based Information Services to obtain the required MIIT permits.

Example Rejection

Guideline 5 - Legal

Issue Description

As you may know, the Chinese government has been tightening regulations associated with deep synthesis technologies (DST) and generative AI services, including ChatGPT. DST must fulfill permitting requirements to operate in China, including securing a license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) if the services are provided while connected to the Internet.

Based on our review, the app appears to be associated with ChatGPT, which does not have requisite permits to operate in China. Specifically, the app's metadata includes the following references to ChatGPT and/or OpenAI: OpenAI.

Accordingly, pursuant to local Chinese law, this functionality must be deactivated in the version of the app that you make available on the China App Store and all references to ChatGPT or OpenAI must be removed from metadata fields such as app name, subtitle, promotional text, app description, and screenshots.

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