Apple Invests $275 Billion in China Manufacturing Since 2016

Financial Times journalist Patrick McGee's new book, Apple in China, exposes how Apple's extensive investments and involvement in China have significantly contributed to the country's rise as a global manufacturing powerhouse. McGee reveals that Apple has trained 28 million Chinese workers since 2008 and invested $55 billion annually by 2015, efforts which he compares to a corporate-scale Marshall Plan for China. In 2016, Apple committed to spending $275 billion over five years in China, a sum dwarfing the historical Marshall Plan when adjusted for inflation, demonstrating the company's deep entanglement with the Chinese economy. Through these actions, Apple facilitated a substantial transfer of manufacturing knowledge and capabilities to China, supporting President Xi Jinping's 'Made in China 2025' initiative to reduce reliance on Western technology. McGee's book draws on extensive interviews with former Apple executives and engineers, highlighting how Apple's supply chain choices have increased its vulnerability to the Chinese government’s influence, thereby complicating US-China relations. This narrative challenges the conventional view of Apple as merely a beneficiary of China's manufacturing prowess, instead portraying the tech giant as a critical architect of China's industrial ascent.