Apple negotiates Chinese chip deals despite U.S. blacklist
Source: Bloomberg (paywall)
Apple is pursuing domestic semiconductor sourcing for its China market, using suppliers the Pentagon has sanctioned—a pragmatic workaround that acknowledges geopolitical reality. This move reflects widening bifurcation of supply chains: rather than a global ecosystem, Apple is building region-locked production networks where China gets Chinese chips and the rest of the world gets approved alternatives. The shift signals that enforcement of export controls is becoming less about preventing all Chinese chipmaking and more about compartmentalizing which products reach which markets.