Sorta like the secret deal Cook signed with Google for billions a year. In public Cook talks a good game about privacy and liberty but behind closed doors he's signing deals with the same foes he publicly rails against. He's Mister Rogers in public and Gordon Gecko in private.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook 'Secretly' Signed $275 Billion Deal With China in 2016
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In 2016, I wouldn't have blamed him. Much different landscape than where we are today. I would bet most of the people screaming about it are just taking their Fox news talking points and dropping them here. Just to be clear, 100% a bad deal, but most wouldn't have known that in 2016.
China is a few short bad days away from total economic collapse. They're beyond over-leveraged in debt, and Evergrande was just the first domino to fall.
This is hardly surprising. Business is war and this kind of 'deal' is modus operandi for doing business in China. Perhaps now Tim Cook can stop the pure goodness schtick coming out of Apple. Apple took advantage of systemic corruption in China.
This is a bit traterous because China is apparently adversarial towards the West.
Tim Cook could be a billionaire twice-over. He could have a stash in China. No doubt he's well compensated over there...under the table.
This is a bit traterous because China is apparently adversarial towards the West.
Tim Cook could be a billionaire twice-over. He could have a stash in China. No doubt he's well compensated over there...under the table.
Governments interfere with businesses all the time. One example is the FTC is suing to stop the Nvidia/Arm merger.
This is only "secretly" because that's the terminology The Information decided would best boost page views/ad-sales.
In reality, everything a business or corporation does is "secret" until it's announced (future/shipping products) or disclosed (due to regulation, other requirements).
In reality, everything a business or corporation does is "secret" until it's announced (future/shipping products) or disclosed (due to regulation, other requirements).
Hard to call this a bribe. Yes, China made Apple exempt to some rules for now as Apple helps Chinese industry. This sort of thing is done all the time between governments and business. From oil pipelines to drug policy the US has bent its own rules for companies local and abroad to meet an end. This is nothing new.
Now if China just looked the other way and nothing went through the proper legal channels you’d be on to something.
Thank you OP for using such a fitting thumbnail:
I've got a better one, and cue the Curb Your Enthusiasm music before roll credits:
I've got a better one, and cue the Curb Your Enthusiasm music before roll credits:
That’s actually not capitalism. You need regulations in place in a capitalist marketplace otherwise those with capital will strangle the market until it is dead.
Americans talks a big game about Chinese human rights abuses yet has the highest prison population in the world and is engaged in perpetual warfare, curious
I see no issue as long as he's not violating US laws.
So much outrage...Wondering how much is real and how much is faux?
Will anyone here be voting with their wallets and purchase phones/tablets/computers from Apple competitors? Yeah, that's what I thought.
So much outrage...Wondering how much is real and how much is faux?
Will anyone here be voting with their wallets and purchase phones/tablets/computers from Apple competitors? Yeah, that's what I thought.
It's important to separate people from their rulers.
Most of us, that criticize China are criticizing CCP not its poor citizens who are as far as I can tell hard working good people.
But a virtue signaling communist will easily conflate it all as 'racist' so discussion can be stifled before it even begins.
pay no mind to the virtue signalling people who give their cash to a virtue signalling company that is the "wokest".
its all kabuki theater.
Except China is either cutting off access or doing things that making investment there very risky. India is now looking like the new place to have cheap goods made.
Also China has the problem many Western countries have - an aging population. As outlined in Time magazine's China’s Aging Population Is a Major Threat to Its Future:
"If current trends continue, China’s population will peak at 1.44 billion in 2029 before entering “unstoppable” decline, according to a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences study released in January."
"All signs suggest the country will get old before it gets rich–and the impact is already making itself felt."
Then there is China's 'it can't go on forever' housing bubble - China’s Real Estate Bubble Started With ‘State Capitalism’ That market has already seen a mammoth slowdown (new home sales dropped by a third)
China's command economy can only stave off the 'here is what happened to the US in 2008' moment for so long and barring some major restructuring (which would require loosing face as they would be admitting to the world they messed up) a major contraction of China's economy in the next 20 years is very possible.
Why do you say that? Do you not think someone can criticise a company for doing something they think is bad while still using their products?
That's all well and good but it seems criticizing china is often just virtue signaling as well. People posting here from their slave labor phones and laptops created with metals destructively mined from indigenous lands and shipped across the world in gas guzzling cargo ships. But yeah, we can pretend to care about china
Does anyone in this thread have any background in business? It doesn’t seem that any of the commenters understand what a Memorandum of Understanding is.
An MoU is not a “deal”. It’s not a commitment to do anything. It is just what the name says: A memo containing certain facts that both parties agree are true.
Once again, MacRumors is overhyping a story to generate page views. “Journalistic ethics? What journalistic ethics?”
An MoU is not a “deal”. It’s not a commitment to do anything. It is just what the name says: A memo containing certain facts that both parties agree are true.
Once again, MacRumors is overhyping a story to generate page views. “Journalistic ethics? What journalistic ethics?”
They do… and it seemed to accelerate after Trump called out American companies (Apple, by name) on their lack of investments in this country. Not sure if it was Trump or already in Apple’s plans, but they made a few announcements after that and were pretty prolific in sharing how much they were investing in America during Trump’s presidency.
Maybe that’s what American companies need. Just some good ol’ fashion stick and carrot incentives.