Patrick McGee, author of Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company, joins Molly O’Shea to unpack his latest bestseller. McGee explains how Apple, once days away from bankruptcy, was saved by Tim Cook’s decision to move manufacturing to China. Tim Cook’s nearly trillion-dollar bet created the most advanced supply chain in history — and left Apple geopolitically captured. From Foxconn’s factory floors to Beijing’s political leverage, McGee shares how Apple’s growth empowered China’s rise as a global tech superpower.
Putting numbers behind it, Tim Cook, had pledged $275 billion in new investment to China — more than the U.S. CHIPS Act and equal to two Marshall Plans. Since the launch of the iPhone, Apple’s cumulative investment in China is estimated at over $800 billion. To sustain this scale, Apple engineers trained millions of Chinese workers and thousands of suppliers, building the very ecosystem that now powers Huawei, Xiaomi, and other rivals. Despite Apple’s iconic status, the iPhone has never commanded more than 20% of global market share, while Chinese competitors, leveraging the supply chains Apple helped create, now control more than 55%.
McGee argues that Apple isn’t exploiting China — it’s China exploiting Apple. With a labor pool of 350 million floating workers, harsh conditions inside Foxconn factories, and unyielding pressure, Apple has been locked into an environment it cannot escape. Tim Cook’s operational brilliance may have rescued Apple from bankruptcy, but it also created a supply chain that China now firmly controls.
Connect with us:
1. Patrick McGee: https://x.com/PatrickMcGee_
2. Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea
3. Sourcery: https://x.com/sourceryvc
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Chapters:
(00:00) Tim Cook’s Supply Chain Blind Spot
(02:15) Apple’s Wake-Up Call
(04:30) The $275B Pledge to China
(08:00) Why Apple Moved
(10:15) Training Millions: Apple Builds China’s Workforce
(13:00) Inside Foxconn: Harsh Realities of Production
(17:00) How Apple Helped Create Its Rivals
(18:30) Chess vs. Go: Apple’s Capture Explained
(21:00) Can Ive & Altman Compete Outside China?
(23:30) Apple’s Future: Over $800B Invested, No Exit
