Here's a question I get a lot. How did China get so good so fast. People with front line experience in the People's Republic talk about something called the China arc. Chinese leaders identify your company as the global leader. They entice you to invest in China. Chinese companies gradually extract know-how from you. Then they begin to compete with you inside China. Pretty soon, they are present in global markets, giving you a run for the money everywhere. The clearest example of this is solar panels, where Chinese now control more than 90% of global production. There are more: Magnets, batteries, ship-building and drones. Starting 10 years ago, China began accelerating its arc in two high value industries: Smart phones and electric cars. Today, it turns out that Apple finds itself n the mother of all Chinese arcs, one with huge implications for the company's long term competitiveness. That's the captivating message from Patrick McGee, author of a tremendous new book titled: Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Most Valuable Company. For over a decade Apple consistently invested more than $50 billion into training Chinese suppliers? How come. Well, Apple wanted to be absolutely to make certain that hundreds of millions of iPhones ChIna built were the highest quality in the world. Flawless. Yes, that's $50 billion. a year, a number, which McGee points out makes America's post WWII Marshall Plan look like chicken feed. McGee is a terrific guest, lively and smart with lots of fun asides. What's catfishing? Not what you think. And is the what's this about 300 million roving employees? McGee has answers, on the Driving With Dunne podcast.
