Apple in China: How the iPhone Became an Economic Security Warning

SERIES

Global Decisions. Business Consequences.

With Kit Conklin

Exiger Exchange turns global policy and technology headlines into practical intelligence for business leaders.

Each fast, focused episode examines how tariffs, sanctions, export controls, competition over critical technologies and dependence on difficult-to-replace suppliers and capabilities can reshape access to markets, materials, capital and production.

The result is a clearer view of where leverage sits, which dependencies are hardest to unwind and which policy shifts could change the economics of an industry.

STREAM THE LATEST EPISODE

Apple in China: How the iPhone Became an Economic Security Warning

With Patrick McGee

Apple helped build extraordinary manufacturing capacity in China, but that success also created dependency and loss of domestic know-how. Patrick McGee, New York Times bestselling author of Apple in China, joins Kit Conklin to explain how Apple trained tens of millions of workers, raised the quality standards, and helped make China the leader in consumer technology manufacturing.

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READING LIST

Read What’s Shaping the Conversation

Explore the books our podcast guests are reading, recommending, and returning to—fresh ideas to keep the conversation going long after the episode ends.

How Governments Are Moving Markets

Tariffs, sanctions, export controls and investment restrictions can redirect trade, limit access to technology and reshape entire industries. Exiger Exchange examines how governments use these tools to protect critical capabilities, pressure rivals and influence where companies invest and operate.

Where Supply Chains Become Sources of Leverage

Semiconductors, critical minerals, medicines, chemicals and payment systems can create leverage far beyond their immediate suppliers. Exiger Exchange explores where these pressure points sit, why they are difficult to replace and what happens when governments decide to use them.

Why Technology Leadership Depends on Industrial Capacity

AI, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing depend on chips, data centers, specialized equipment, skilled labor and production knowledge. Innovation matters, but so does the capacity to manufacture, scale and secure the systems behind it.

How Companies Build Resilience Before Their Options Narrow

Diversification, reshoring and allied sourcing can reduce exposure, but they can also raise costs and take years to execute. The conversations examine which alternatives are credible, which dependencies are hardest to unwind and what leaders can do before disruption forces the decision.

Your Host

Kit Conklin

Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Global Affairs Officer

Kit Conklin is a seasoned expert in technology, policy, and national security. He brings extensive experience from his time advising members of Congress on supply chain risks, sanctions, and international trade as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. House Select Committee on China.

He is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and the National Intelligence University.

BEYOND THE EPISODE

The Systems Beneath Global Competition

Go deeper into the critical technologies, financial networks and supplier relationships that shape how governments exert pressure and how companies respond.

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How Dependency Warfare Is Rewriting Supply Chain Risk

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Apple in China: How the iPhone Became an Economic Security Warning

Global Decisions. Business Consequences.

Exiger Exchange turns global policy and technology headlines into practical intelligence for business leaders.