Apple — the iconic company with more annual revenue than the GDP of most countries — faces a precarious situation. Not long ago, Apple touted that it was "made everywhere." Now, 90% of its total production is in China.
McGee does a great job telling the story of that drift. Executives, partnerships, supply chains, vendor contracts, organized crime, new products, strategy, labor, land, working conditions, retention, legal changes, settlements, bribes, intellectual property, corporate espionage, investment in local education, Huawei, competition, a pandemic, quarantines, lockdowns, semiconductors...
Many Americans were wrong about China. Even Chinese businessmen, such as Jack Ma, were wrong. They did not expect the CCP to grow stronger. Over the past few decades, there have been many hardball negotiations between Beijing and Cupertino. The CCP has made it clear that it is the senior partner. Apple is actively diversifying away from China, but it won’t be easy.