Apple’s China Focus Thrusts It Into Center of Geopolitical Fight

Apple Inc., which counts China as its biggest manufacturing hub and the US as its largest market, is now at the center of an escalating geopolitical fight that threatens to span tariffs and regulatory probes.

The Trump administration’s new 10% levy on Chinese-made goods is poised to squeeze the company at an already-challenging time, when it’s suffering from sluggish iPhone sales and playing catch-up in artificial intelligence. And in China, the country’s antitrust watchdog is weighing a probe into App Store policies, though that process began months before Trump took office.

The company’s smartphone archrival, meanwhile, has one immediate ...