As claims have emerged that the world's largest IT corporation, Apple, is excessively reliant on China, experts in the United States have countered, stating that "expansion into China was an unavoidable choice at the time and was rather a strategic decision made within a structure of mutual benefits."
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 3rd (local time), Professor Meg Rismeyer of Harvard Business School stated during a panel discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) the day before that "Apple has established its global market position based on China's productive capacity and innovative capabilities." He also noted, "At that point, there was no sharp alternative to expanding into China, and looking back now, I would have made the same choice."
This debate originated from the recent book 'Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Top Corporation' by Patrick McGee, a former reporter for the Financial Times (FT). McGee argues in this book that "as a result of relying entirely on China, Apple has essentially shackled itself to an authoritarian surveillance regime," and said, "I realized too late that China was a far more ruthless control state than I had thought."
However, experts point out that such a perspective is a one-sided interpretation. Jeffrey Ding, a professor of new technology and international relations at George Washington University, countered that "the added value created by China in the iPhone production process is limited, and the notion that China has fully inherited Apple's technology is exaggerated."
Professor Ding also emphasized that "the economic interdependence between the U.S. and China can serve as an important mechanism to reduce the possibility of war," and that "the relationship should be interpreted in a balance of cooperation and restraint rather than in terms of confrontation."
In fact, despite the recent intensification of U.S.-China tensions, American corporations are still staying in the Chinese market. According to a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China in May, a majority of responding corporations said they have no plans to withdraw for the time being. Not only Apple, but also Tesla, Ford, and GM continue to invest in China.
Professor Rismeyer explained, "American corporations are staying not just for revenue or cheap labor, but also to learn and respond to China's strategies and movements within the global competitive environment."
In response, McGee also acknowledged, "In the beginning, Apple may have found itself in a situation where it could not cooperate with China," while questioning whether such a deep engagement as currently exists is appropriate.