My work: China takes a bite out of Apple

Posted: January 2nd, 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , | No Comments »

An Apple store on East Nanjing Road in downtown Shanghai, courtesy of Flickr user SimonQ錫濛譙

Business has turned ugly for multinationals and foreign businesses in general operating in China. After the financial crisis, many looked to China for salvation but the business climate for them has soured in the past couple of years. They have become an easy target for authorities looking to send a message to various industries, with a number of foreign firms such as GlaxoSmithKline and Danone swept up in a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign that is increasingly defining Xi Jinping’s presidency to date. Other firms to have received tough treatment include Apple, whose humiliating apology in 2013 for offering inadequate warranties I wrote about for Al Jazeera English. Read the rest of this entry »