Apple, China, & the Offshore World: Rethinking the Global Economy | 25th National Book Festival

Описание: Financial Times journalist Patrick McGee (Apple in China) and historian Ian Kumekawa (Empty Vessel) join Coffee With Ken to examine how Apple’s supply chain, China’s rise, and the offshore world reshaped the global economy.

Recorded live in Washington, D.C. at the 25th Annual National Book Festival, this conversation unpacks the hidden systems behind globalization—from containerization and offshore manufacturing to corporate interdependence and geopolitical power. Ken Biberaj, Patrick McGee, and Ian Kumekawa explore how Apple became deeply entangled with China’s industrial growth, why global supply chains remain physical and political, and what the “offshore world” reveals about modern capitalism.

Drawing on reporting, history, and economics, the discussion considers how technology and logistics transformed labor, nation-building, and innovation—and what these forces mean for the next phase of global trade.

About the Authors:

Patrick McGee is a Financial Times journalist covering Apple, technology, and global business. His book Apple in China is the first comprehensive account of Apple’s deep entanglement with China’s rise.

Ian Kumekawa is a historian of capitalism and empire, Fellow at Harvard’s Center for History and Economics, and Lecturer at MIT. He is the author of Empty Vessel (Knopf), a history of the global economy through the ships that carry the world’s goods.

Book Links
Apple in China — https://www.amazon.com/dp/
Empty Vessel — https://www.amazon.com/Empty-Vessel-S...

Topics: globalization, Apple supply chains, China’s industrial rise, offshore manufacturing, containerization, capitalism, and the global economy.

Chapters:
00:00: Introduction: Pulling the Curtain Back on Globalization
00:36: The Swedish Vessel and the Offshore World
02:04: How Containerization Changed Trade Forever
08:00: Apple and China: A Symbiotic Success
11:00: Apple’s Global Workforce and Vocational Training
15:43: The Ironies of Globalization
19:31: Nation-Building Through Technology
26:43: Can Apple Really Leave China?
29:28: Globalization Is Still Physical
31:00: Closing Reflections

📍 Learn more: https://www.coffeewithken.com

📲 Follow Us:
▶️ Watch on YouTube- @coffeewithkenbiberaj
🐦 X (Twitter) – https://x.com/kenbiberaj
📸 Instagram –   / coffee.with.ken  
🎵 TikTok –   / kenbiberaj  
🔗 LinkedIn –   / biberaj  

#Globalization #Apple #China #GlobalEconomy #CoffeeWithKen