{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "This was a fascinating read not necessarily for the details of the centralization of Apple's decision to move nearly all of its manufacturing to China, but for the context, pressure and politics caught up in that decision. What it lays out is a step by step retelling of how the process started as Apple fought for its life in the 90s, to efforts on the part of Chinese manufacturers and government officials to capture it. This isn't about intellectual property theft, strictly speaking, its about Apple willingly transferring that knowledge willingly to advance its business ends. The author repeatedly mentions Cupertino and Washington's interests diverging, but the former doing that is a product of the latter's historical drive to deregulate and allow private companies to do whatever the hell they like in pursuit of profit. That regulatory pattern has waxed and waned, but the overwhelming trend has been towards allowing private companies at all costs. What this policy trend failed to grasp was that welcoming China to the world trade organization and broader global economy as a means to move it towards a more open democracy would fail so spectacularly. The CCP understood the opportunity and exploited it. Their grip on power strengthened, their long term plan to transfer knowledge to local industry worked masterfully and Apple's been both a willing and naive partner. I'm writing this on a MacBook Air, using an attached Apple bluetooth keyboard and trackpad, an Apple Watch on my wrist, an AirPod in my ear and an iPhone resting atop an iPad next to my keyboard. My desk is routed with Apple cables. I don't rely heavily on Apple's services but I'm buried in their hardware. I knew where it came from, I didn't understand the finer points and Apple in China brilliantly lays out the case that — outside of extraordinary profits — China's Apple strategy is an existential risk that wasn't always well understood internally. Apple's trying to diversify their manufacturing but, at their scale, that's a truly massive task. Should they succeed, they may simply diversify their dependency on foreign manufacturers. That's an improvement. It spreads risk around, but they're certainly in a precarious position for the foreseeable future.",
  "path": "/reading/books/9781398534384/apple-in-china",
  "publishedAt": "2025-09-26T00:00:00Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:sttgf52vkk46f6yuknvqxvgh/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "economics",
    "tech",
    "apple",
    "business & economics"
  ],
  "title": "Apple in China"
}