Book Review: Apple in China – The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company

Sometimes, books are timely, and the book Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company by Patrick McGeeis a good example of that. I have always enjoyed reading about the technology market and ecosystems. As an Apple device user with an iPhone, several iPads, and an Apple TV in our different properties, including our motorhome, it is fascinating to read how Apple ended up manufacturing in China. This book is one of those that will get you engaged from the first page. I only downloaded a sample Kindle book first, but having read a few pages, it was clear that I had to buy the book to read it to its entirety.

For longtime technology enthusiasts such as myself, the book starts by discussing some historical milestones in Apple's history and how Steve Jobs saved it after he was fired. After struggling to build its products on three continents, Apple was lured by China’s seemingly inexhaustible supply of cheap labor. Soon, it was sending thousands of engineers across the Pacific, training millions of workers, and spending hundreds of billions of dollars to create the world’s most sophisticated supply chain. These capabilities enabled Apple to build the 21st century’s most iconic products—in staggering volume and for enormous profit. Without explicitly intending to, Apple built an advanced electronics industry within China, only to discover that its massive investments in technology upgrades had inadvertently given Beijing a power that could be weaponized.

Patrick McGee’s Apple in Chinaexposes the precarious symbiosis between global corporations and authoritarian regimes, using Apple’s reliance on Chinese manufacturing as a cautionary tale. The book reveals how Apple’s quest for scale and efficiency entrenched its operations in China, creating systemic risks that now reverberate through global supply chains amid rising tariffs and geopolitical tensions.

Main Findings and Learnings

1. Apple’s Deep Dependence on China Apple’s manufacturing operations became deeply intertwined with China, to the point that nearly 90% of its products are assembled there. This dependence gave China significant leverage over Apple and allowed the Chinese government to extract concessions, including censorship and compliance with local data laws.

2. Transfer of Technology and Know-How Apple’s investment in China—training millions of workers and transferring advanced manufacturing expertise—helped Chinese firms such as Huawei and Xiaomi rapidly ascend the value chain. This contributed to China’s broader industrial ambitions, including the "Made in China 2025" plan, and enabled domestic competitors to challenge Apple both in China and globally.

3. Vulnerability to Geopolitical and Regulatory Risks Apple’s reliance on China exposed it to significant risks, especially as U.S.-China relations soured. The book highlights how Apple’s centralized supply chain is vulnerable to tariffs, export controls, and sudden regulatory changes, making it difficult for the company to adapt quickly when geopolitical tensions escalate.

4. Ethical and Reputational Compromises To maintain access to the Chinese market, Apple made a series of ethical compromises, including removing apps at the government’s request, storing Chinese user data on local servers, and tolerating labor rights issues at supplier factories. These actions have had lasting reputational impacts and raised questions about business costs in authoritarian environments.

5. A Cautionary Tale for Global Corporations The book frames Apple’s experience as a warning for other multinationals: prioritizing efficiency and scale in authoritarian states can create long-term strategic vulnerabilities. The narrative suggests that companies must weigh short-term gains against the risks of overexposure to single markets, especially those with unpredictable regulatory climates.

What is the primary audience of the book?

The primary audience of Patrick McGee’s Apple in China consists of readers interested in the intersection of global business, technology, and geopolitics, especially those who want to understand how multinational corporations like Apple navigate complex relationships with authoritarian regimes. The book is positioned for:

• Business professionals and executives, particularly those in technology, supply chain management, and international trade, who seek lessons on the risks and consequences of global manufacturing strategies.
• Policy makers, analysts, and scholars focused on U.S.-China relations, global commerce, and the influence of major corporations on international affairs.
• General readers of business history and investigative journalism, similar to the audiences of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs and Chris Miller’s Chip War, as noted in the publisher’s description.
• Anyone interested in the ethical, economic, and political implications of globalization and the vulnerabilities it creates for even the world’s most powerful companies.

The book’s narrative style, combining extensive interviews, corporate history, and geopolitical analysis, makes it accessible to both specialists and a broader audience concerned with the future of global capitalism. The book is important because it reveals, with unprecedented detail, how Apple’s pursuit of growth and efficiency fundamentally transformed both the company and China—and in doing so, created profound vulnerabilities for Apple, the United States, and the global technology landscape. The main walks through the reader in detail the following main topics:

⭐It exposes Apple's role in China's rise

⭐It highlights strategic and geopolitical risks

⭐It challenges the narrative of globalization

⭐It serves as a warning for multinationals

⭐It informs the debate on technology, power, and Values

Apple in China is particularly compelling to me has having with three decades of experience in the software industry and a long history of using Apple products. The book offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s most influential technology companies built its global dominance—not just through software innovation, but through complex, high-stakes decisions about manufacturing, supply chains, and international strategy.

As for a software professional, the book’s insights into Apple’s integration of hardware, software, and services are especially relevant. It shows how strategic decisions about where and how products are made can have direct implications for software ecosystems, user privacy, and the ability to deliver seamless customer experiences—themes that resonate with anyone invested in the intersection of technology and business. Interestingly, this was one of the primary analysis areas in my doctoral dissertation on software product platform theory.

I have been teaching, leading companies, and facilitating in the area of business strategy and monetization models; I appreciate how the book unpacks Apple’s approach to scaling operations, managing risk, and navigating the tensions between efficiency, ethics, and long-term value creation. The narrative also prompts reflection on how global dependencies can impact product quality, innovation cycles, and even the security and privacy of end users—issues that are deeply relevant to those who develop, deploy, or rely on software platforms.

Finally, I have a personal connection to Apple’s products, and the book provides a new lens through which to understand the trade-offs and hidden costs behind the devices and services you’ve used for years. It invites you to consider not just how Apple’s software delights users, but also how its global strategy shapes the future of technology, competition, and digital freedom.

I recommend this book, especially given the current global business climate, which has changed many organizations and challenges organizations with a global business to think through how to react to changes in the geopolitical environment.

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Yours,

Dr. Petri I. Salonen