Apple and the difficult relationship with China: one country, two strategies

The relationship between Apple and China it is certainly one of the most complex in the mobile industry, and the reasons are many. On the one hand there is the simple commercial aspect of this link, with the Cupertino house that it absolutely does not want to lose access to the luscious internal market Chinese and the same local companies that certainly do not want question the rich supply contracts that only Apple can guarantee for extremely high volumes of products.

On the other hand, however, there is the question linked to all aspects political and social that come into play when a US company interacts with the Chinese government. Not only is there a chance to become a scapegoat in the midst of an eventual geopolitical confrontation – a bit like what happened a few years ago – but they are all there too those issues that often embarrass the Cupertino housesuch as the need to bow to government control imposed by China, which strongly contrasts with all the commitments put in place by the company to protect the privacy of its international users.

In short, it is really a complicated relationship but, at the same time, impossible to interrupt, which is why Apple is implementing profound internal changes that allow it to keep its foot in two shoes. To paraphrase one of China’s most famous formulas of the last century, it seems that Apple is studying two strategies for one countryinterfacing with the Beijing giant in a different way based on the aspect it intends to maximize.

To give us some indication of this tactic is the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuowhich seems to confirm what is now an Apple trend reported by various sources: the desire to emancipate itself from China and, at the same time, not give up its presence in the rich local market.

Emancipation obviously concerns the reduction of Apple’s dependence on the Chinese production chain, which represents the company’s real weakness in the event that geopolitical tensions should intensify. The last few hours show us how relations between the US and China are more precarious than ever and Apple wants to avoid getting caught again in the clash of nations. For this reason, according to reports from Kuo, the company has begun to intensify the development of an alternative production chain that no longer depends on China.

Then there is the theme of permanence on the Chinese market and it seems that, in order to avoid a decline in sales volumes, Apple will try to be even more present in the territory through the involvement of a greater number of local companiesthen going to further diversify its suppliersthe. This will allow the Californian company to take root even more in China, probably making it more attractive also to local users, who will be able to contribute to the internal economy even by purchasing a product made by an external company. According to Kuo, Apple has already implemented the two strategies and soon it will be possible to start seeing the first fruits for both.