One could argue that the act of 'curation' happens before the stores even begin to offer anything, because anyone with a sense of self-preservation in a regime

One could argue that the act of 'curation' happens before the stores even begin to offer anything, because anyone with a sense of self-preservation in a regime that likes heavy political censorship will have an instinct for what is within acceptable bounds. And that is before we get to people on boards that keep hands on the pulse and so on. I guess what I am saying is: "Absolute number of stores does not equal better access to anything." For all my beef with Apple and Android ecosystems, there are ways to bypass most of it ("control over market"). I am not sure, it is an option in China despite having 5 stores as opposed to 2.