Bad Apple? How the World’s Greatest Company Changed Chinese Tech

Bad Apple? How the World’s Greatest Company Changed Chinese Tech

From The Little Red Podcast by Graeme Smith and Louisa Lim

January 7, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

This episode explores Apple's dependence on China and its efforts to improve its image with the Chinese government.

In 2013, to mark International Consumers Day, China’s state-run TV network labelled Apple a ‘bad company’. More than a decade later, despite claiming to rely on multinationals from 50 different countries, Apple still has nearly 100% of its supply chain in China. In this episode, we look at how Apple became so dependent on China, what it did to rehabilitate its image in the eyes of the Chinese government, and how it has influenced China’s aspiring global tech giants. Graeme is joined by Jianggan Li, the founder and CEO of Singapore-based Momentum Works, and the co-author of Seeing the Unseen: Behind Chinese Tech Giants’ Global Venturing and Patrick McGee, Financial Times journalist and the author of Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company . Image: c/- Gerd Eichmann, 2020. Apple Store on Nanjing Lu, Shanghai. Transcripts are available at https://ciw.anu.edu.au/podcasts/little-red-podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Graeme Smith, Louisa Lim

Guests: Jianggan Li, Patrick McGee

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Apple, Financial Times

Books & works: Seeing the Unseen: Behind Chinese Tech Giants’ Global Venturing, Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company

Places: China, Singapore, Shanghai

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