According to an investigation by The Information, Apple has agreed with the Chinese government to avoid being knocked out by the legislative and political sanctions that Beijing had in stock. In return, the company reportedly promised to invest heavily in the country's digital ecosystem.
Apple reportedly took out the printing press to appease the Chinese government. I published an article in The Information. on December 7, 2021.
The iPhone maker signed a $275 billion deal with Beijing in 2016. In exchange for this massive investment in the Chinese electronics industry, Apple reportedly negotiated political peace with the Chinese government.
which threatened at the time to limit, through legislative sanctions, the development of services such as the App Store, Apple Pay. or iCloud in its territory.
According to The Information, the Chinese government believed at the time that Apple "was not contributing enough to the local economy" and therefore threatened to complicate the life of the company in China.
The country was becoming one of the most lucrative markets for Apple, so the company could hardly afford to stop its momentum.
What did Apple get from this deal?
In exchange for the pledged, use the advantage of rudiments from Chinese suppliers. (.) to unite on technology with Chinese universities (.) And to take a position directly in Chinese technology companies,"Apple, thus, got largesse from the Chinese government.
In the agreement, I wrote that Apple would receive "the support and help" to help its development in the country. Investing in Chinese universities and factories has also enabled Apple to train a workforce familiar with its production methods.
According to The Information, the company would also have got rights passes to avoid certain sanctions typically imposed on American companies operating in China.
Microsoft and Google have also tried
While this deal is getting a lot of attention because of its size and secrecy, it is far from the first of its kind. Scores of American companies, attracted by the size of the Chinese market, promise to invest in Chinese industries to operate in the country.
For many years, Google bowed to Chinese censorship to offer its search engine in the country, before withdrawing in 2010. A few years later, the company had resumed building a search engine cut to please the government.
In the early 2000s, Microsoft announced 750 million investments in China to limit the development of an alternative OS called "Red Flag" and pushed by the Chinese government. In 2003, Microsoft agreed to let China inspect Windows source code.
The rule is simple, if a tech company wants to access the Chinese market, it must invest in the Chinese market. Otherwise, the government will intervene.
The deal between Apple and the Chinese government may turn heads in its scale and, because of the tightening of relations with China, but it is only the latest in a long list intended to strengthen Chinese economic protectionism.
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