China is a very important market for Apple, accounting for almost 20 percent of the company's total sales. After entering the Chinese smartphone market in 2010, Apple’s sales in the region grew more than 20-fold within five years, peaking at $58.7 billion in 2015 before gradually falling back to $40.3 billion in 2020, when Covid-19 heavily affected Apple's business in the region. Luckily for Apple, that slump was short-lived as sales surged back almost 70 percent in 2021 and have exceeded $70 billion in each of the past two years.
Amid a slowdown of the Chinese smartphone market and persistent rumors about a ban of iPhones at government agencies and state-backed companies, Apple's China business remains a topic of concern for the company's shareholders, however. Given its size and the fact that it has grown from barely existent to one fifth of the company's total sales in little more 10 years, it's no surprise that investors keep a close eye on China. After all, it remains the world's largest smartphone market and the potential for future growth in the region is still significant.
