Against a global backdrop of intensifying competition between the United States and China, the reshaping of global value chains, and the pursuit of greater strategic autonomy, decisions about manufacturing locations and supply chain management have become increasingly critical for businesses. Over the past few decades, China has evolved from a low-cost manufacturing base into one of the world’s most advanced and difficult-to-replace manufacturing and technology ecosystems.
In this session, Patrick McGee, journalist and author of Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company, will use Apple’s experience as a lens through which to explore how the company’s pursuit of quality, scale and efficiency contributed to the development of China’s extraordinary manufacturing capabilities, while at the same time creating a deep interdependence between one of the world’s most important companies and China.
This story offers a broader perspective on the transformation of globalization and on the new strategic dependencies that companies are increasingly required to navigate.
In particular, the session will explore:

• how China became a global manufacturing and technology powerhouse, and the role played by investment and knowledge transfer from major Western companies;
• the Apple case and the development of its supply chain in China, from the pursuit of quality, scale and efficiency to a growing dependence on skills, expertise and manufacturing capabilities that are difficult to replicate elsewhere;
• the implications for businesses amid today’s competition between the United States and China, including supply chain security, manufacturing diversification, strategic autonomy, and the need to rethink the balance between efficiency and resilience.