China has pledged to retaliate against Apple, Inc -- whose third largest market by sales in China -- to gain an edge in the ruinous trade war against the United States. Chinese consumers have long gone crazy over Apple and are among Apple's most loyal customers worldwide.
"China is by far the most important overseas market for the U.S.-based Apple, leaving it exposed if Chinese people make it a target of anger and nationalist sentiment," said an ominous story in the People's Daily titled "Strong Sales of U.S. Brands Including Apple Give China Bargaining Chips in Trade Row."
The story said China doesn't want to close its doors to Apple despite the trade conflict, but if the U.S. company wants to earn more money in China, it needs to share its development dividends with the Chinese people. How Apple should share its development dividends isn't clear from the story, but seems to indicate Apple must make some form of concession to Beijing.
The People's Daily is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which rules China.
The story reiterated this point when it said it's impractical and unreasonable to kick Apple out of China, but if Apple wants to continue making enormous profits from the Chinese markets amid trade tensions, the company needs to do more to share the economic cake with local Chinese people.
In 2017, Apple reported its second straight quarter of revenue growth in Greater China in the three months ended December 31. Apple revealed an 11 percent increase in revenues to $17.9 billion compared to $16.2 billion year-on-year in its combined fiscal first-quarter revenue from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
"We had an all-time record for revenue in mainland China," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. He said Apple's market share for the iPhone rose in the quarter. Market shares of the iPad and Mac during the quarter and wearables (Apple Watch) were extremely strong there in the quarter.
This won't be the first time the CPC has turned the screws on Apple, however. In March 2013, the CPC took actions to undermine Apple in China.
