Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company by Patrick McGee

Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company

by Patrick McGee

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History & Foreign AffairsTech & Future

Apple's move to China sounds like a story about outsourcing. McGee's case is that Apple built the capability itself, sending thousands of engineers, training millions of workers and investing hundreds of billions, and made itself dependent on Beijing while helping build a Chinese tech industry that now rivals America's.

Core ideas
  • The biggest investor: By 2015 Apple was the largest corporate investor in China, and it earns about $70 billion a year there while investing around $55 billion.
  • The accommodations: Removing VPN apps and restricting AirDrop after protesters used it to organize follow from that dependence.
  • Dimming prospects: In his view, Huawei's gains and US-China trade tensions under Trump now threaten Apple's China profits.
Published2025
Pages448
ISBN9781668053379
ReadJun 2025

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